A dragon's glyph
by spike tashy
Summary: while lost in an old ruin hiccup get's cut. and suddenly he find hims thrust forward into a world he never even knew existed. how will he cope with this new world AND his growing feelings for toothless? A FEMALE TOOTHLESS FIC. REVIEWS ARE WANTED AND LOVED
1. the temple

CHAPTER 1

Hiccup coughed as he breathed in dusty stale air. All around him rock and dust met his gaze. Behind him he could hear toothless wheezing and coughing on the old air that surrounded them. They had been flying, when the harness had malfunctioned. They had crashed into the side of a mountain, or what had looked like a mountain. It turned out to not be a mountain but an overgrown section of wall in an abandoned temple complex. And now they were lost in the maze or corridors that made up the complex. Moving through the corridors, hiccup coughed again as they passed under a large stone archway. Behind him toothless stopped and began to whine. Turning hiccup sighed. "I know this seems bad. But I'm sure that if we keep moving we'll find our way out." Toothless stood still for a moment before, nodding and stepping in line behind hiccup who turned and continued onward. They were in a room now. Large stone statues towered over them. Each one of the statues had their swords drawn and seemed to be in the process of stabbing a large stone dragon suspended from the ceiling. As they neared the center of the room hiccup stopped and looked around. From his spot he could see no windows, or other ways out of the room. Sighing he spoke. "Well toothless it looks like it's another dead end." Behind him hiccup heard toothless let out a loud roar of frustration. Hiccup had been about to turn when a large gust of wind knocked him off balance.

Falling forward hiccup had to close his eyes as a large plume of dust was kicked up by toothless who seemed to be panicking. She was flapping wildly around the chamber and seemed to be doing her best to go through the ceiling. For the most part she was having little success. But that quickly changed as hiccup felt the chamber shake with the force of toothless's crashes. Hiccup had been about to shout at her to stop when an earsplitting crash shook the chamber. Looking up hiccup dived to the right only to have a large stone brick fall where he had been a few seconds ago. All around him the chamber was shaking and trembling as though it was in an earthquake. Running through the chamber hiccup did his best to try and avoid the dozens of bricks that were now falling from the ceiling. In his panicked state he didn't notice the small step until it was too late. He hit the ground hard. Next to him he heard the sound of rattling glass. Looking hiccup saw a large shelf of glass jars containing some strange dark liquid. But he had little time to look at them as a large brick came down on top of the shelf and sending dozens of jars flying through the air. Rolling away from the shelf hiccup did his best to avoid the large glass projectiles that now threatened to do him bodily harmed. It was all for not as he rolled across the ground he felt white hot pain run over his skin, a signal that he had been cut. Warm blood dripped from his injury, dripping down his arm and giving him a sickly feeling of warmth. His vision was beginning to blur. He could feel himself slowing down. The last thing he felt before losing consciousness was a strange tingling sensation where his arm had been cut.

LATER

Sitting bolt upright hiccup awoke with a start. Sweat dripped from his skin and he could feel himself shaking with fright. As his level of fear decreased he became aware of something. He was no longer in the temple he and toothless had been in. no now they seemed to be in a large pile of rubble that he could only assume was the remains of the temple. Sitting up slowly hiccup rubbed his temples. "owww. Toothless what's the big idea?" "I was trying to get us out, of that death trap." Pushing himself away from his dragon hiccup pointed at toothless. "You just spoke! I understood you! You just spoke!" toothless's eyes went wide. "I can understand you too!" hiccup paused for a moment. "You couldn't understand me before?" toothless shook her head. "Not really. I know a little of human language but not a lot." hiccup opened his mouth to speak but toothless took a step towards him, and jerked her head worriedly. "Hiccup your hurt." It was then that hiccup remembered his cut arm. Sure enough when he put his hand to his arm it came away bloody. But more than just blood stuck to his hand. A strange black liquid seemed to be mixed in with his blood. Vaguely remembering the jars hiccup began carefully taking off his shirt, and wrapping t around the cut. After securing his makeshift bandage, hiccup slowly stood up and noted that the world seemed to be shaking slightly. Taking a tentative step towards toothless hiccup felt his legs tremble slightly before something warm and solid brushed against his side. Toothless had moved and now stood next to him helping to support him. It was a slow process but after what felt like an eternity hiccup was able to climb onto toothless's back and start flying towards the woods on the outskirts of Berk.

After reassuring toothless that he would be fine, hiccup pushed open the door his room and began to treat his injury. That was 1 thing he knew how to do perfectly. He had been treating injuries since he had been old enough to walk. Broken bones, burns, sprains, slashes, you name it he could clean it and fix it, and all with minimal pain to the injured. But even with his skills he had to grit his teeth to prevent him from screaming when he ran his cut arm under some water. Wrapping his injury up in clean cloth hiccup tied his bandage off before putting on a new shirt and walking out of his hut, and back towards the forest. As he walked he tried to act as normally as possible. But this was difficult not only because of his injured arm but because of the strange tingling feeling that seem to be emanating from his cut. He had just cleared the line of sight of the village when he felt the ground shake as toothless emerged from her 'hiding' spot behind a tree. "hiccup?" hiccup nodded slowly. Toothless was silent as she sniffed at his now bandaged arm. After a moment she knelt down next to him. "Get on." Hiccup would have argued but the look on her face made it clear argument would do no good. Sighing hiccup clambered up and a short while later he and toothless arrived at their normal clearing meeting place. Dropping off toothless's back hiccup sat down against a small rock and did his best to resist scratching at his arm which now itched something fierce.

Across from him toothless paced for a moment before dropping to the ground with a 'thud'. She stared at him for a moment with one of her large green eyes before speaking. "What happens now?" hiccup cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean?" toothless shifted slightly before speaking. "I mean now that you can hear me. What happens now?" hiccup shrugged but winced as he did so. "Why do things have to change? I'm happy….for the most part." Toothless nodded and lay her head against a rock using it like a pillow. "alright." Hiccup opened his mouth to speak but instead shivered involuntarily as a strong gust of wind blew through the clearing. Rubbing his arm carefully hiccup looked up when he heard toothless grunt. "What?" toothless grunted again and jerked her head "move over here next to me. You'll be warmer." again Hiccup didn't argue but moved next to his dragon. After a moment of moving he finally settled down in a space between one of toothless's legs, and her wings. Even before he was fully comfortable he could feel toothless's internal heat beginning to warm him. Yawning slightly it was only then that hiccup realized how tired he really was. Closing his eyes, hiccup slowly let sleep take him,

It would be night time before hiccup would reawaken. For a moment he lay against toothless unable to think of what might have woken him up. He had been about to close his eyes again when he realized what had woken him up, his arm. It burned and itched like crazy. Sighing hiccup slowly got to his feet and made his way over to the small pond that he and toothless often swam in. carefully undoing his bandage Hiccup moved into the moon light so he could better see his injury. His mouth dropped. The cut was gone. Hiccup twisted his arm looking for any sign of his injury. But despite looking for several moment he found nothing, no sign of any injury whatsoever. Rubbing his eyes slightly Hiccup turned slightly and looked at toothless who had lifted her head and was now looking at him. "What?" Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not sure. Hold on." Gathering a small bundle of water reeds and tied them together with a small length of cord. Holding the reeds out; he spoke. "Could you light these for me?" in response toothless let loose a small gout of flame which easily ignited the reeds. Holding the reeds with one arm Hiccup began to reexamine his 'injured' arm. Again he found himself surprised. With the light he could now easily see his arm. Gone was the gash that he had had only hours ago. Instead a dark pigment seemed to have covered the area where his injury had been. Tugging his shirt's sleeve up Hiccup found that the pigment did not only cover the area of his injury but instead twisted across his arm like some kind of tattoo. Twisting his arm around Hiccup soon gave up on trying to make out the form of his 'tattoo'.

Sighing Hiccup tossed the bundle of reeds in the lake and slowly made his way back to toothless who cocked her head at him. "what's wrong?" Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not sure if anything's wrong. But…my cut is gone and I have some kind of tattoo, on my arm." Toothless twisted around and began sniffing Hiccup's arms. After a few minutes she settled back down and wrapped her wings around his fragile frame. "Your arm smells strange." Hiccup yawned, and closed his eyes. "Well we'll be able to look at it better in the morning. For now let's just sleep." Toothless let out a purr of approval and closed her eyes. A few minutes later they were both fast asleep.

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AN: WELL FOLS WHAT DO YOU THINK?

CONTINUE? ABANDONE?

PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

REVIEWS ARE WANTED AND NEEDED.


	2. changes?

_Sighing Hiccup tossed the bundle of reeds in the lake and slowly made his way back to toothless who cocked her head at him. "what's wrong?" Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not sure if anything's wrong. But…my cut is gone and I have some kind of tattoo, on my arm." Toothless twisted around and began sniffing Hiccup's arms. After a few minutes she settled back down and wrapped her wings around his fragile frame. "Your arm smells strange." Hiccup yawned, and closed his eyes. "Well we'll be able to look at it better in the morning. For now let's just sleep." Toothless let out a purr of approval and closed her eyes. A few minutes later they were both fast asleep. _

CHAPTER 2

Morning soon came, bring with it a layer of fog that clung to every surface in dense layers. Yawning and stretching it took Hiccup a few moment to remember what had happened the day before. Moving carefully so as not to wake his still sleeping dragon Hiccup slowly made his way back over to the small pond and quietly rinsed his face with cold water, before turning his attention back to his now uninjured but marked arm. Sure enough his cut was gone replaced by a strange tattoo that covered the majority of his arm and even fanned out towards his shoulder blades. Staring it his strange new marking Hiccup couldn't help but marvel at the way they looked. Each edge of a line seemed to travel against his body's natural curves and each line itself seemed to follow a vein or blood vessel. In short it was beautiful. The pigment that made the design was jet black darker than anything Hiccup had ever seen in his life. By then he could hear toothless shifting around behind him and he turned and smiled at her. "Good morning toothless." Toothless grunted and rolled over onto her back to scratch an itch. "Good morning Hiccup. How's your arm?" Hiccup shrugged and turned his attention back to his arm. "it feels fine. But I'm curious how this tattoo got here." Toothless righted herself and then crawled over to him; leaning down over his shoulder she began sniffing his arm. After a moment she stood up and shook her head. "your arm. It smells…like dragon blood." Hiccup looked at her. "Could that have been what was in the jars that cut me?" toothless gave her version of a shrug. "Possibly; if we could find the ruins I could tell you more." Hiccup shook his head and stood up. "That will have to wait until later. Right now I need to go to training and you need to stay out of sight, until I come back. Ok?" toothless looked at him for a long moment before nodding. "very well. But when we get back we will search for that ruin and we will find out why your arm smells the way it does." Hiccup nodded. "I promise." Toothless let out a low sigh and turned away from him and flipped back onto her back.

Sighing Hiccup put his shirt back on and made sure his arm was covered. It was only then that he began making his way back to the village and to dragon training. Moving through the forest Hiccup couldn't help that feel that something was different. He couldn't quite put his finger on it though. It was an odd feeling. Even though clouds covered the sky it seemed as though the sun was shining directly on him. That was the only way to explain why all the things around him were so bright. As he walked he found all the noises of the forest hitting his ears as though they were being made right next to him. But he dismissed these occurrences. Dragon training went as it normally went. That was to say he used his knowledge of dragon he had learned from toothless to ace each course. By the time it was over he had barely broken a sweat and out of the corner of his eye he could see Astrid giving him a death glare. As the class ended Hiccup rushed to catch Gobber before he returned to the forge. "Gobber?" Gobber turned and smiled at him. "Hiccup what can I do for you? Surely you don't need my help to fight a dragon." Gobber chuckled and Hiccup chuckled too albeit awkwardly. "Ahh. No actually I was wondering if I could look at some books on ancient dragon warriors." Gobber shrugged. "Sure. Come by the forge later and I'll have them ready. But why pray would you want to look at dusty old books?" Hiccup shrugged and did his best to look unsure. "Well I thought maybe I'd research other ways of beating dragons. You know see if there are other ways besides brute force or trickery." Gobber shrugged. "Suit yourself. I still say getting behind them and hitting them with a hammer works best. Come by the forge before sunset and I'll have them out for you. Is there anything else you need?" Hiccup had been about to say no when a thought occurred to him. "Yes. Do you have a map of the mountain range?" Gobber nodded but looked worried. "Lad you may be good in training but don't go testing your luck against a wild dragon." Hiccup shook his head. "no no no. I'm just curious about what's out there. Father's never really let me go very far from the village so I'm curious." Gobber's face softened. "Ok lad. Come with me. I'll see if I can dig something up." Hiccup thanked Gobber and quickly fell in line behind Gobber who went straight to a building Hiccup had never been in before.

The ancient library had to be the biggest collection of fading, dusty, scrolls Hiccup had ever seen. And yet Gobber seemed to know exactly where everything was, because after several moment of digging around in a pile produced a small map of the village and the surrounding mountains. Setting the map down he smiled. "here you go lad. Is this what you were looking for?" after looking over the map for a moment Hiccup looked up. "do you have anything…. I don't know maybe older?" Gobber raised an eyebrow. "older? You sure you're only interested in learning the area?" Hiccup looked down and Gobber continued. "it's ok lad you can trust me. What are you looking for?" Hiccup looked up, the beginnings of a lie already forming in his head. "well….." Hiccup looked around trying to make it look as though he was looking eavesdroppers. Leaning in closer to Gobber he continued. "I found….. a brick." Gobber raised an eyebrow. "A brick?" Hiccup nodded. "yes. But when I went to pick it up it broke into dust. So I had to have been REALLY old. I'm looking for what or where the brick could have come from." Gobber nodded slowly. "But why lad do you care?" Hiccup shrugged. "I'm not sure. Curiosity I guess." Gobber nodded. "Well I suppose I can respect that lad. Give me a moment. And after several minutes of digging Gobber produced what had to be the oldest piece of paper Hiccup had ever seen. Carefully Hiccup unrolled the map and began looking it over. He easily found his village and then began working his way outward. After a few seconds of searching he felt his breath hitch in his chest. There, on the far side of the north mountain. A small cirle of statues with swords drawn. "Gobber?" "aie?" this temple. Do you know what it is?" Gobber turned away from a pile of scrolls and poured over the map. After a moment he spoke. "I've heard legend. That temple used to belong to the dragon knights." Hiccup looked up. "dragon knights? What are those?" Gobber shrugged and began digging through scrolls again, as he did so he spoke. "Well legend tells that they were Vikings you used magic to hunt dragons. Not sure what they did but they were damn good at it." Hiccup continued to watch Gobber who continued to dig into piles of scrolls. "Were they better than my dad?" Gobber laughed. "No offense lad, your dad was good, but dragon knights were the best. Legends say they mixed dragon blood with their own just so they could know the monsters they were fighting."

Gobber straightened up and leaned in a bit closer to Hiccup. "Some used to believe that if a dragon knight lived for too long he became more dragon than human." Hiccup tried not to look worried as Gobber straightened up and continued digging through the scrolls. After a moment he spoke. "if you want to know more, then read this." Lobbing a book over his shoulder Hiccup barely had time to catch the dust old tome. Opening the tome Hiccup looked at the old style writing on the inside cover. _'if ye is reading this tome than thou hast taken up the sword of the most ancient and noble order of dragon knights. May Thor have smile upon your blade for unless you can tame the monster within you; you will surly perish.' _Hiccup stared at the words. Behind Gobber spoke. "the monster within. Wonder if they mean the dragon blood? Such an odd order. Believe it or not new recruits were sent to kill the older ones when they lost control." Hiccup nodded dumbly and began turning the ancient pages. Fighting techniques, armor designs, weapon plans, and then…. Hiccup stopped at a page with a diagram of a Viking's arm. Marking similar to his spanned the Viking's arm. Below the diagram a small heading glinted in the candlelight. _'of all dragon knight weapons the dragon glyph is the most powerful and the most dangerous. With each passing of the full moon the glyph will grow in size until it completely covered the knight's body. However the knight shall note the glyph's effect long before then.'_ Turning the page Hiccup continued to read. _'Created by mixing dragon blood with human, the glyph is drawn on the knight's arm or leg. From that moment on the knight shall lead a half life, a cursed life, for they are no longer completely human. It is not uncommon for knights to begin understanding dragon speech, or become increasing sensitive to light and sound. Immediately after receiving the glyph'_ Looking over his shoulder for a moment Hiccup pulled the candle a little closer to better read the ancient loopy text. _'Other glyph effect are as wide ranging as the sky but all knights are capable of 7 main abilities. Understanding dragon speech, heightened senses, superhuman strength, superhuman endurance, complete resistant to fire, fire manipulation, and finally the ability to relate to dragon's in the most sacred and intimate of ways.'_

Hiccup would have read more but his was jolted out his chair by Gobber who dropped a dozen large books on the table making him start and fall out of his chair. "Here you go lad. Enjoy your books, I'll be in the forge if you need me." With that Gobber turned and left leaving Hiccup alone in the library. Running his hands through his hair Hiccup set to work copying the ancient map so he could find the temple when he and toothless went out searching later. Once that was done Hiccup returned his attention to the dragon knight book. For the next hour or so he he would study the book and take notes on things he felt could be important. By the time his candle died he had covered 13 pages with notes. Leaving the library he made his way to the forest and after making sure he would not be followed headed straight for toothless's clearing.

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 2 IS DONE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS.

TO ALL THOSE WHO SAY TOOTHLESS IS A GUY: I KNOW THAT'S HOW IT WAS IN THE MOVIE BUT FOR THIS FIC TOOTHLESS NEEDS TO BE FEMALE. STOP BUGGING ME ABOUT IT. THANKS FOR READING MY STORY BUT IT'S MINE, SO DON'T TELL ME TO CHANGE IT.

HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER.


	3. ackward around toothless

_Hiccup would have read more but his was jolted out his chair by Gobber who dropped a dozen large books on the table making him start and fall out of his chair. "Here you go lad. Enjoy your books, I'll be in the forge if you need me." With that Gobber turned and left leaving Hiccup alone in the library. Running his hands through his hair Hiccup set to work copying the ancient map so he could find the temple when he and toothless went out searching later. Once that was done Hiccup returned his attention to the dragon knight book. For the next hour or so he he would study the book and take notes on things he felt could be important. By the time his candle died he had covered 13 pages with notes. Leaving the library he made his way to the forest and after making sure he would not be followed headed straight for toothless's clearing. _

CHAPTER 3

It wasn't hard to find the temple. Before the walls had been covered in plants so they had looked like just another section of mountain. But not anymore. Now the walls had caved in on themselves and made a kind of crater in the mountainside, making it easier to see where the ruins were. Landing amongst the scattered bricks and debris, Hiccup slowly dismounted toothless and began slowly picking his way over the piles of bricks that had once been walls. After a while of searching Hiccup stepped off a large pile of bricks and stepped onto a large plate of rock. The plate itself had to be part of the old temple. There was no way nature would make a slab or rock in a perfect circle. Kneeling down Hiccup touched the plate before looking up at toothless who had stepped onto it too. "how old do you think this place is?" toothless shook her head. "I don't know Hiccup. But I don't like this place. It feels…. Unnatural." Hiccup stood up. "ok. We'll leave in a minute let me just-" had had been about to say 'look around a bit more' when something caught his eye. Moving towards the small glinting object Hiccup bend down and picked up the object only to drop it again when white hot pain lanced through his finger. Nudging the object with his foot Hiccup felt his breath hitch in his chest as the shattered piece of glass became dislodged from the earth. Looking at his finger Hiccup felt his heart jolt as he noted a small dot of black on his finger where he had been cut. Even as he looked at his finger he the small black dot stretched and began moving alone the muscles in his body until it joined with the larger tattoo. Taking one last look around Hiccup climbed up onto toothless and took to the skies. Soaring high above the ground Hiccup couldn't help but flex his hand. It was odd, and just a little unnerving; to know that in his veins dragon blood now flowed with his own human blood. The sun was setting before they landed again. Hopping down off of toothless Hiccup sat down and pulled of his shirt, to better examine his new tattoo.

TOOTHLESS'S POV

I can't help but watch him. From the first moment I met Hiccup I knew his was different from the other human's. He was…kind, gentle. Even when he had wanted to kill me had had moved to cut out my heart with as little pain as possible. Of course I'm still happy he didn't kill me. After a while of lying on the ground I stand up and plod over to him looking over his shoulder so I can see what he's doing. I watch as he reads his people's loopy symbols. Since meeting Hiccup I've learned much more about the human's language, but I still don't know enough to know everything that Hiccup's has written down. And yet almost as though he knows what I'm thinking because he started reading his notes out loud for me to hear. It the small things like this that make me like Hiccup. He cares about me, as much as he cares about anyone else in his life. Maybe more so in some ways. That thought makes me stop for a moment. It's been ages since someone has ever cared about me. I can barely remember my mother and father, and I've never had any brothers or sisters. I feel my heart jolt slightly as I think of my parents. I was barely a hatchling when they died. Since then I had mostly lived on my own. Relying on her to support herself. But now…..

GENERAL POV

Hiccup had just begun reading his notes again when he felt toothless nuzzle his neck. Smiling Hiccup began scratching toothless's nose affectionately. For several hours they would stay like this toothless leaning over Hiccup's shoulder and Hiccup scratching toothless's nose. It was only as the sun began setting that Hiccup began putting his notes away. Putting his papers back in his bag Hiccup lay washed his face with water before, standing up and turning Hiccup smiled as he watched toothless turn in a circle before breathing fire and creating a small nest for herself before laying down. After a moment she looked up at him and gave him one of her famous toothless grins. "Go on." Hiccup smiled and gave her head one last pat. "It's getting to be winter. I'll bring you some extra fish tomorrow. Ok?" in response toothless gave him a lick which lifted him off the ground for a moment. Smiling Hiccup gave her one last pat before turning and heading back to his house.

TOOTHLESS'S POV

I can't help but feel a sense of lose as I watch Hiccup leaving our clearing. I sigh and try to get settled down for the night. When did I come to care so much for Hiccup? When did I start thinking of him as more than just another human; and more of a friend? It must have been after he made my tail work again. I'm not exactly sure what he did. All I know is that there is some strange devise attached to my tail and with its help I can fly. Of course I need Hiccup to actually use the devise. I've tried to fly without him a few times and I always fail. Last time I tried I crashed face first into a small cliff on the far side out our clearing. Sighing I stand up and slowly plod my way over to the pond and move until the water covers everything but my neck and head. I shiver as the cold water laps at my naturally warm almost hot skin. I dip my head below the water for a moment before I send drops of water showering back against the crystal smooth surface of the water. I shiver again as a light breeze flutters through the clearing. I wonder how Hiccup is doing? Is he home in his nest? Is he warm? Is he cold? All at once I begin leaving the pond. Something in me is compelling me to move. To find my Hiccup and make sure he's ok. I'm not sure what's making me do it, but I am. Before I even realize it I'm out of the clearing and moving through the forest. I stop once or twice to catch Hiccup's scent, but for the most part it's easy to follow. Moving through the forest I fell my pace quicken. Something inside of her was telling her that Hiccup was in trouble. Bursting through the wall of trees and bushes I enter a small clearing. Across from me Hiccup is lying face down on the ground. His shirt has come off and even as I move to him I can see his strange markings. It's no longer unmoving. Now it writhes like a bundle of snakes or worms. Even as I kneel down to sniff him the strange markings, crawl like worms across his back. For a few moments I kneel next to him unsure of what to do. so I move him? Do I leave him and try to wake him up? I know every little of human healing. Nature provides me with an answer.

All around me the trees rustle in a high cold wind. Even with my warm almost hot skin I shiver. If I'm cold Hiccup hast to be cold too. It takes a bit of work but after a while I manage to get Hiccup up and onto my back. He's still not awake and it's with a sense of hast that I head back to the clearing and to the cave that I normally sleep in. stopping just outside the cave and brace myself. Flames erupt from my mouth, not the concentrated sphere fire that explodes but warm flames that heats the rock until the air waves from their heat. I pull Hiccup off my back and lay him against a large rock that isn't hot enough to burn him. Leaving the cave I begin pulling branches off of the trees and putting them into a large pile just inside the cave. After I'm satisfied with the pile I hit them with fire. Instantly the clearing lights up with the light from the fire. Moving back to Hiccup I curl around him to help keep him even warmer. Wrapping my wings around him I smile as I realize he's no longer shivering and is actually nuzzling into me. Smiling I close my eyes and gently drift off the sleep; holding my rider; _my _Hiccup.

GENERAL POV

As Hiccup woke up the first thing he realized was that he was not in his bed as he had thought but instead was laying next to toothless who had wrapped him up and was using her wings like a giant blanket. It took a bit of time but after a lot of wiggling and a bit of luck Hiccup finally managed to work his way out from under toothless's wings. Standing up Hiccup winced as his back popped in a slightly unpleasant manner. Making his way to the pond Hiccup went out his morning routine. Stripping off his pants, Hiccup laid them on a large rock before wading out into the chilly waters until it was up to his chest. Taking a deep breath Hiccup dunked his head under the water. A moment later he reemerged from under the water, coughing and shivering. FUCK THE WATER WAS COLD. Gasping as he wiped the water from his face Hiccup turned back to shore only to duck down slightly as he found that his escape was had gone as unnoticed as he had hoped. Toothless had moved and now lay watching him. As his gaze met hers she chuckled. "What?" Hiccup shivered violently before speaking. "Toothless…..I'm…. not decent." Toothless shook her head in confusion. "You humans and your modesty. I'll never understand it." Hiccups shivered again. "Well could you turn around so I can put my pants back on?" toothless smiled and rolled onto her back. Her gaze never left his. "Hmmm…..no." "Why?" Toothless smiled again and rolled back onto her stomach, "well it's not like you turn around whenever I get out of the lake." It took Hiccup a moment to realize that toothless was right, and when he did his face went red with embarrassment. "Toothless please turn around." Again toothless shook her head. "No. now get out of there before you catch your death of cold." This time it was Hiccup's turn to shake his head. "Not until you turn around." Toothless's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not turning around so just come out of there." Hiccup grinned slightly. "Make me." It was the wrong thing to say, because a moment later a massive wave of water surged across the surface of the lake as toothless charged into it hell bent on pulling Hiccup from the water. For maybe half an hour they chased each other in the water. Of course one down side of this was the amount of waves they created. By the time Hiccup let toothless win his pants had been soaked with more water than the lake. Sighing Hiccup found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand he could get out now. He still had his underwear and for that he was thankful, but for some reason the idea of being in his underwear around toothless, made him feel uncomfortable. On the other hand if he didn't get out of the cold water soon he risked hypothermia. Sighing Hiccup made his decision.

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 3 IS DONE. WHAT DO YOU THINK. I'M TRYING TO START SHOWING THE ROMANCE BETWEEN Hiccup AND TOOTHLESS. IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA LET ME KNOW. I'M ALWAYS OPEN TO IDEAS, OR COMMENTS.


	4. fire proof?

"_I'm not turning around so just come out of there." Hiccup grinned slightly. "Make me." It was the wrong thing to say, because a moment later a massive wave of water surged across the surface of the lake as toothless charged into it hell bent on pulling Hiccup from the water. For maybe half an hour they chased each other in the water. Of course one down side of this was the amount of waves they created. By the time Hiccup let toothless win his pants had been soaked with more water than the lake. Sighing Hiccup found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand he could get out now. He still had his underwear and for that he was thankful, but for some reason the idea of being in his underwear around toothless, made him feel uncomfortable. On the other hand if he didn't get out of the cold water soon he risked hypothermia. Sighing Hiccup made his decision. _

CHAPTER 4

Hiccup shivered despite toothless being wrapped around him. Behind him toothless chuckled and rolled onto her back, being careful to keep her tail wrapped around him. As she rolled she spoke. "Your marking is bigger. Did you know that?" Hiccup shook his head. "No I didn't know that." Standing up Hiccup moved to the edge of the pond and turned around so he could get a better look at his dragon glyph. Sure enough it had grown. No longer was it confined to just him arm. Now it had spread downward covering his right side and stopping just below his hip. Tracing one of the lines with his finger Hiccup looked up and up to find toothless watching him. moving over to his pants Hiccup picked them up and wrung the last of the water out of them. Putting them on he shivered again, he still didn't have his shirt. "I need to go toothless." Toothless nodded and began licking dirt of her scales. "go. I'll see you later." Hiccup smiled and stayed long enough to scratch toothless's scales for a moment. Half an hour later he was back in the village moving between the houses and the shops. Stopping just long enough grab a shirt from his house Hiccup quickly made his way to the dragon training pen. Today's lesson; maze training.

Hiccup groaned as he ran through the maze of wood walls, and metal stakes. He had just dodged a blast of fire when something unexpected happened; the arena went dark. Not the normal kind of dark. Pitch darkness. Looking up Hiccup immediately discovered why. The area dome had become covered. In the winter several large tarps, would lashed to the edges to keep out the snow. Now those tarps had blown free of their restrains and had covered the pen's roof cutting all light from the outside and making it damn near impossible to see, anything. Above them Hiccup could hear Gobber shouting at people to remove the tarps, and get some light into the pen.

It pen should have been pitch black. It should have been impossible to see, and yet he could see. It wasn't like normal sight no this was very different. The world around him had gone sketchy. He could see only the outline of objects. He could see the edges of the maze walls, glowing a faint white light. But he was torn from his strange new sight as something picked him off the ground and hurled him against one of the walls with bone crushing force. Shaking his head Hiccup had only a second to move out of the way before the wall he had been leaning against was blown apart by a blast of flames. The dragon itself, a Deadly Nadder let out an ear splitting roar and charged at him. Taking off like a shot Hiccup ran down dozens of corridors doing his best to avoid the dragon. The only problem with this was that the dragon didn't have to follow the same paths he did. No the dragon had the talent of flight and there for stayed above him flitting from wall to wall breathing fire at him as it went. Hiccup had just dodged the 7th fire blast when he almost ran head long into Astrid. "oww!" Hiccup rubbed his head. A moment later he felt Astrid punch his arm; "Watch where you're going loser." Before she ran off in another direction. Rolling his eyes, Hiccup had been about to start running when he felt the ground shake behind him, and a large gust of wind pull him backwards. Spinning around time seemed to slow for Hiccup. Behind him the Nadder stood its mouth open, Hiccup could already see the faint glow of flames growing in its mouth. Behind the Nadder he could just make out Astrid who had stopped and was no looking at him, fear lined in every feature on her face. Then all at once time returned to normal and Hiccup found himself engulfed in hot red flames.

His ears roared as the flames washed over his body. He could feel them wrapping around him igniting his clothing and burning his it away. And yet… he felt no pain. No pain, no heat, no discomfort from the world of fire that had engulfed him. He thought he heard someone shout his name, and yet all other sounds were drowned out by the loud rushing sound in his ears. And then all at once the flames were gone; and he was back in the pen with a deadly Nadder standing in front of him ready to rip him apart. Hiccup moved just as the Nadder lunged forward. As the Nadder hit the wall next to him, Hiccup reacted out of reflex. He lashed out with what had to be the lamest punch in history. He expected the dragon to shrug of his punch like the lame attempt it was. What he did not expect was for the dragon to stumbling backwards as though it had been hit with a boulder. Hiccup stared at the dragon as it stumbled backwards and crashed into a large section of maze wall causing the wall to tip and come crashing down on top of it. But even as Hiccup watched the dragon pushed the wall off of itself and let out another roar. Hiccup had been about to run when light flooded the pen as the tarps covering them, were pulled off letting sunlight in and stinging hiccup's eyes; as they rapidly adjusted to the new light. Blinking tears out of his eyes, Hiccup looked away from the sky and busied himself with putting out the small fires that still raged on his shirt. Somewhere above them he heard Gobber say that training was over for the day. Snuffing ou the last of the fire Hiccup had been about to leave the pen when he felt someone grab him from behind and spin him around. Astrid grabbed hold of the tattered remains of his shirt and pulled him so close that their faces were inches apart. "All right spill it loser." Hiccup pushed Astrid away, and noted how she stumbled back a few feet. "I don't know what you're talking about Astrid." Astrid growled and pointed at him.

"Don't give me that crap. I saw that dragon breath fire on you. You should be dead. How do you explain that?" Hiccup shook his head. "What are you talking about? I ducked. Most of the flames missed me." Astrid had been about to say something when Gobber put his hand on her shoulder. "Lass leave it be. If Hiccup had been caught in the fire he'd be nothing but bones, and ash my now. Your eyes were playing tricks on you. Nothing more." Hiccup watched as Astrid glared at him for a moment before turning and leaving the arena. It was obvious she still didn't believe Hiccup or Gobber." Gobber turned and smiles at him. "Don't worry about your clothes boy. Just go and get changed, then maybe go and relax you've had… an interesting day." Hiccup only nodded and left the arena heading straight for his home and a spare set of clothing. A short while later Hiccup reemerged from his room now wearing a lighter green shirt with a set of simple leather pants. As he made his way to the forest he couldn't help but feel a little exhilarated. He could understand toothless, he could resist fire, he seemed to be getting stronger and his senses we become stronger for sure. Maybe becoming as dragon knight would be fun.

ASTRID'S POV

Astrid crouched in the shadows and watched as Hiccup left his house. He had been acting suspicious lately. Waiting until he was completely out of site Astrid moved to the door of his home and after a moment of fiddling with the lock smiled as the door creaked open. Moving into the room Astrid began searching. The first thing she noticed was that Hiccup had dozens of pictures of dragons lining his walls. Moving to the large desk that lined one of the walls Astrid began going through the drawers looking for anything that might hint at what was causing Hiccup's strange behavior. Growling Astrid slammed the final drawer closed, before turning and looking around the room. Astrid had been about to leave when a small gust of wind blew s stack of papers that had been sitting on the desk, onto the floor. Swearing under her breath Astrid began re-gathering the papers. As she put them back on the desk she happened to glance at the top one. She froze. The words, 'night fury' were printed on the page alone with a diagram of a dragon Astrid had never seen before. Moving the first page aside began looking at the pages in the stack. And while some were simple diagrams or drawings some genuinely concerned her. There were dozens of pages on what dragons did or didn't like a few pages on dragon behavior, and a small section on dragon eating habits. Turning away from the stack Astrid began going through the other pages that lay on Hiccup's desk. She had been about to reopen the drawers when a noise at the front door made her almost jump out of her skin. She reacted without thinking. Dropping to the floor Astrid shoved herself under Hiccup's bed and held her breath praying that whoever was in the house wouldn't find her. Time seemed to slow as footsteps moved from the downstairs to upstairs to just outside Hiccup's door. As the door opened Astrid found herself leaning forward a little to see who was in Hiccup's room. After a moment she rolled her eyes. Of course it was Hiccup. Who else would be in his room. She had been about to move back again when Hiccup did something very odd. Using a match he lit one of the small candles on his desk. After extinguishing the match Hiccup held his hand over the flame as though he was deliberately trying to burn himself. For several minutes he held his hand to the flame; as though he couldn't feel it.

HICCUP'S POV

Hiccup stood hand over flame. He felt nothing, no discomfort, no burning, nothing. If anything it almost felt pleasant, like a warm bit of cloth covering his hand. After a moment Hiccup pinched the flame extinguishing it. As he took off his shirt, he couldn't help but glance at the mirror that rested on his night stand. Hiccup focused and watched as slowly his tattoo slowly boldened until it was clearly visible against his pink skin. He couldn't help but trace his tattoo. It had grown. Now that he could look at it closer he could see that it was not a collection of lines but a complex design of lines, swirls, and other random shapes. Each form came together to follow every contour of his body. Shaking his head hiccup made sure the candle was completely out before leaving his room and heading back to the forest and to toothless.

ASTRID'S POV

Astrid slowly moved out from under Hiccup's bed. Something was going on. And she was going to find out what. Leaving Hiccup's house Astrid moved through the village carful to keep out of sight. she was going to follow Hiccup, follow him until she found out what was going on.

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 4 IS DONE. HOPE YOU LIKE HOW HICCUP'S POWERS ARE DEVELOPING.

PLEASE REVIEW. I WONT UPDATE UNTIL I GET AT LEAST 2 REVIEWS.

SEE YOU NEXT TIME.


	5. followed?

'_thoughts'_

"talking"

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_Astrid slowly moved out from under Hiccup's bed. Something was going on. And she was going to find out what. Leaving Hiccup's house Astrid moved through the village carful to keep out of sight. she was going to follow Hiccup, follow him until she found out what was going on. _

CHAPTER 5

Hiccup slowly made his way through the forest. High above him the sky was cloudy and every now and then he would hear some random bird sing. Yes everything was perfect. Or at least it was right up until the winds changed direction and began blowing from behind him. Hiccup stopped dead in his tracks. He could smell her. Astrid she was following him. He didn't know how or why all he knew was he could smell her. He was already halfway to toothless's clearing, so if he confronted her know she would get very suspicious of him. Behind him he heard her heart beating slightly muffled as she hid behind something in case he were to turn. Coming up with a plan Hiccup continued on his way but not straight as he would have normally gone but turning right and heading through a thick set of bushes onto a much narrower and tougher to navigate path. Behind him he could hear Astrid now struggling to keep up with him. Pushing his way through dense plant growth hiccup couldn't help but marvel at how easy it was to move now. Before he would have struggled with the plant's branches and fernse. But now with his new strength he could just push his way through them. Astrid however was not so lucky and several times he heard her curse under her breath as she got stuck for a moment in a bush. His plan was working he could hear Astrid falling behind. Doubling back hiccup couldn't help but chuckle as he passed unseen by Astrid who had gotten herself tangled in a bramble bush. Leaving Astrid behind hiccup continued on his way to toothless's clearing, and smiled as he entered it. Toothless was asleep. She lay on a large rock just next to the pond. The sun bathed the rock in light and hiccup could only imagine that the rock was nice and warm from being in the sun for several hours. Smiling hiccup made his way over and lay down next to toothless resting his head on one of toothless's legs. As he did so he felt toothless shift and smiled again when he saw one of her eyes open and look at him. "What kept you?" hiccup shrugged. "Astrid tried to follow me, so I had to lose her before, I came to see you." Toothless opened both eyes. "Who's Astrid?" hiccup closed his eyes. "no one, just this girl from the village. Blonde hair, tough, kind of mean." There was a very pregnant pause before toothless spoke next. "Sounds like she wishes you for a mate." Hiccup raised an eyebrow but did not open his eyes. "What?" toothless shrugged. "Females dragons will often follow their desired mates around. It's part of courtship. Is that not the same with humans?" hiccup shrugged. "I guess a little. But there is no way Astrid thinks of me in that way." '_right?'_

TOOTHLESS'S POV

I can't help but watch hiccup. After my last comment about the human female something about his seems different. His eyes stay closed and his breathing is relaxed….. but his face. It's the face of someone who is in deep thought. I try to not let it bug me. But at the same time I can't help but realize how different our 2 people are. To him we dragons must seem so…alien. And to us dragon humans are aliens. I close my eyes and try not to let this bother me. But it does, and I can't quite seem to get comfortable now. And now hiccup had noticed because he was no longer laying on her leg but looking at her. "Toothless you ok?" I nod and come up with some random lie about how my wing itches. I figured that would settle his worries. I close my eyes and try to ignore this strange new feeling in my stomach. But my eyes fly open again when I feel hiccup's hands begin scratching one of my wings. It's a reflex completely out of my control but my whole body begins vibrating as hiccup's hands work over my wings. It feel…. There are no words to describe how this feels. It's good, almost mind numbing. All I can think about is making him continue scratching. I feel him moving from his spot on the rock to climb up onto my back and scratch at the base of my wings. My eyes roll into my head and my head lies limply on the ground. I'm not sure if it's just that I don't want to move or if I actually can't move. All I know is my mind has only one focus right now, and that's to keep hiccup scratching my wings.

I don't know how long we stay like that. All I know is that when hiccup stops the sun has gone down and my rock is no longer warm. I gasp for air and roll onto my back exposing my stomach to the cool night air. I had no idea I hadn't been breathing properly but the ache in my lungs tells me I wasn't. my body is still mostly limp from hiccup's work. I can feel my tail twitching as I feel the ghost touches of hiccup. My mouth is hanging open for the most part. I probably look pathetic. But hiccup just laughs and pats my nose. He looks up at the sky and I can't help but notice it's the waning moon. Then my mind jolts. It's been 4 months since I met him. 4 months since he caught me and released me. He seem to realize it took because he looks up at the sky and then looks to me. "I'm really glad I didn't… well you know." I give him a small smile. "Me to hiccup." Hiccup smiles back at me and for a moment I feel a leap in my chest that has nothing to do with breathing. Then the feeling is gone and hiccup looks away. He patts me on the nose once more before turning away. As he scrambles of the rock I hear him say. "Goodnight toothless. See you in the morning." I watch him leave, a feeling of lose bubbling in my chest. I lay on my rock for a little while longer before I roll back onto my legs and plod over to my cave. Sighing I close my eyes and try to think of other things besides hiccup. I fail miserably.

GENERAL POV

Hiccup sighed as he made his way back to the village. 4 months…. It seemed a life time ago. 4 months and hiccup's life had changed for the better. Smiling hiccup couldn't help but remember the second time he had met toothless. He gagged slightly at the memory of the thrown up fish he had eaten. It really had tasted nasty. But now he was glad he had eaten it. Because now he and toothless were best friends. No that didn't describe how he felt for the female dragon. She was like….family. But still more than that. She was always there, always, he could tell her anything and she wouldn't judge him. Smiling hiccup continued on his way to the village.

ASTRID'S POV

Astrid growled as she stormed through the forest. She was not happy. Not only had she lost track of hiccup but she had been unable to find out where he had gone and all because of a stupid bush. Growling again Astrid moved through the forest in the direction she knew would lead her to the village. Already she was planning to follow hiccup again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. No matter how long it took she was going to find out what he was doing. For now though she would be happy to get home and change out of these clothes. Her clothes had been ripped and torn by the bramble bush's thorns and even now she could feel the cold night air in a few places that she would have preferred to not expose to the world. Growling again she made a mental note to kill hiccup after she found out what he was doing. Shivering slightly Astrid quickened her pace and after only a few minutes found herself in the outskirts of the village. It was here that she stopped. She really didn't want to walk through the village not in her…..questionably modest situation. So instead she took to skulking around until she was able to get to her house. Once inside she quickly changed clothes, and began treating the few cuts and scrapes she had gotten.

DRAGON ISLAND

MAIN DRAGON NEST

Deep under dragon island the great dragon opened one horrible red eye. _'so. The knights has risen again. Let them come.' _Opening his mouth he let out an ear splitting roar that shook his cavern walls. **"GO TO THE SETTLEMENT! BRING ME MY FOOD!" **

BERK

1 HOUR LATER

Hiccup sighed as he pulled his candle closer. In front of his dozens of pages of notes covered his desk. Rubbing his eyes he pulled another sheet in front of him and began to read. He had just gotten to the end of the first paragraph when from outside he heard someone shout. "DRAGONS!" rolling his eyes hiccup pushed the papers away and extinguished his candle flame, only after that was done did he step outside. As he expected the village was chaos. Above them in the air dragon's dipped and flew grabbing at just about anything that wasn't nailed down. High above him in the sky he could make out the form of a monstrous nightmare, not yet on fire. Hiccup watched as the nightmare dipped down close to the ground and the rose back into the air with something in its claws. His blood ran cold. Astrid, lay unconscious in the nightmare's claws. He moved without thinking. As the nightmare passed over him he took off following it as it made its way for the cliffs on the far side of the village. Hiccup watched and prayed that his plan would work. He was right behind the dragon now. As the dragon reached the cliff, it dipped downward until it was vertical. And it was then that hiccup acted. Closing his eyes hiccup lunged off the side of the cliff. Hiccup's eyes sprang open as cold air blasted his face. Below him hiccup watched as the nightmare began to level out horizontally. Taking a deep breath hiccup brought his hands together over his head and braced himself for what he was about to do. Hitting the dragon squarely in the back hiccup brought his hands down on the dragons back in a hammer blow. The dragon let out a screech of pain and dropped out of the air, slamming into the ocean. The force of the impact threw hiccup off the dragons back and into the water. Air bubbles clung to his skin as he fought to make it to the surface. His head broke the surface and he gasped for air. Twisting around in the water hiccup spotted Astrid and swam over to her. Grabbing her arm he started making the difficult swim back to the shore. Behind him he could hear the dragon struggling to get out of the ocean.

Hiccup gasped for air as his dragged Astrid up onto the sandy beach. Rolling onto his back hiccup couldn't help but marvel at the stars in the sky. There were sooooooo many of them. And they all shown down on him, like there wasn't a problem in the world. Hiccup smiled as his world faded to black.

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AN: WELL FOLKS. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

SORRY THIS CHAPTER TOOK SO LONG. I JUST GOT RED DEAD REDEMPTION.

I ThINK FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER I MIGHT FOCUS A BIT MORE ON TOOTHLESS. BUT I'M NOT 100% SURE.

ANYWAYS PLEASE REVIEW. AS USUAL I WON'T UPDATE UNTIL I GET REVIEWS.


	6. stay with me?

_Hiccup gasped for air as his dragged Astrid up onto the sandy beach. Rolling onto his back hiccup couldn't help but marvel at the stars in the sky. There were sooooooo many of them. And they all shown down on him, like there wasn't a problem in the world. Hiccup smiled as his world faded to black. _

CHAPTER 6

Hiccup felt like crap, and that was saying the least of how he felt. Slowly hiccup opened his eyes, as he managed to roll onto his stomach. Coughing hiccup turned and found that Astrid was right where he had left her. She was still unconscious but he could see her chest moving, indicating she was breathing. Sighing hiccup rested his head on the warm sand before looking back up at the cliff he had just jumped off of. The first thing he noticed was the sky. Gone were the warm twinkling stars replaced with a sky that had 2 lances of light. Hiccup sighed, it was almost morning. Vaguely he wondered how long he had been unconscious for. But he pushed those questions out of his head, one thing at a time. Shakily standing hiccup moved over to Astrid and after a bit of work managed to heft her onto his shoulder without touching anything inappropriate. Moving along a small path that lead upwards hiccup wondered just how much damage had been done to the village. As he made his way upward he could see small tendrils of smoke moving along the sky. The village wasn't too badly damaged. As hiccup moved between the houses, he was able to see firsthand the damage that had been done. Several houses had been destroyed; they now lay in smoking piles of rubble. A few animals were missing; hiccup noted maybe 12 cows, and 13 sheep gone. All in all the damage was minimal. Moving through the village hiccup made his way to Astrid's house and slowly pushed open the front door, pulling Astrid off his shoulder hiccup set her down just inside the door, and then quickly closed the door and made his way to the woods, and toothless's clearing.

Pushing his way through the grasses that lined toothless's clearing hiccup noted that toothless seemed to be breathing harder than usual. He had been about to greet toothless when he heard a noise behind him. Turning around hiccup peered suspiciously at the wilderness behind him. After several minutes hiccup shook his head and began turning around while at the same time speaking. "Good morning too-aaaaa. Toothless what are you doing?" toothless was on her back, wriggling like a worm. On her stomach sat 3 terrors, which were holding onto her scales like their lives depended on it. Hiccup's eyes widened. Toothless was bent over backward and was obviously meddling with it. "Toothless stop. You'll break it." Toothless looked at him and cocked her head to the side. "How does it work?" hiccup blinked at her. "What?" toothless looked at him. "How does it work? This devise." Hiccup sat down next to toothless's tail. "Why do you want to know?" toothless gave her version of a shrug, and rolled onto her back. "Just curious." Hiccup smiled and began explaining how the artificial tail worked. Every now and then he would have to stop and re-explain some of the more complicated parts. When he finished hiccup smiled as toothless stared at him blankly. After a moment she spoke. "why…why would you build something so complicated for me when we had only just met me?" hiccup shrugged, and began scratching toothless's tail. "I'm not sure. Guess I just wanted to help you, since you helped me." Toothless looked at him. "I helped you?" hiccup smiled. "yeah. You didn't kill me when I let you go." Toothless, gave him a toothless grin. "There is no honor in a kill when the press is off guard." Hiccup cocked his head. "so if I'd be on guard you would have attacked me?" toothless rolled onto her back again. "maybe." Hiccup nodded slightly nervously. "oookkkkaaayyy then. Well….thanks" Toothless spun around and gave hiccup a lick that lifted him off the ground for a moment before dropping him back on the ground with a 'thud'.

Hiccup had been about to wipe the saliva off his face when he felt toothless pin him to the ground, and begin licking his face and neck. Hiccup fought in vein trying to push the dragon off of him. But even with his new found strength toothless proved to be too heavy. His whole body shook with laughter as toothless's long tongue ran across his skin sending shivers, of ticklish pleasure across his body. In between laughter he tried to speak. "toothless…stop…..get…off." but toothless only stopped long enough to say. "Make me," before continuing. Hiccup's sides heaved with laughter as he struggled to push the dragon off of him. Hiccup's muscles heaved and to his amazement he found that toothless was becoming less and less heavy. In fact after a few moment hiccup succeded in pushing toothless off of him. Toothless flopped backwards and landed on her back. For a moment her mind went blank. She lay there on her back eye wide, hiccup… had shown dominance over her. she was in new territory so to speak. She could feel her heart racing, even faster than her mind. a new feeling was spreading across her body. A strange warmth, that covered her in a blanket and made her….. want….. toothless trembled as the new feeling died down. Shaking her head she rolled back onto her legs and looked around for hiccup who seemed to have vanished. She quikly found him behind her and whipped around to snap playfully at him. But as she turned hiccup grabbed onto her tail and spun around with her. so that now she snapped at nothing but air. Spinning around again toothless tried to snap at hiccup only to find that so long as he held onto her tail she wouldn't be able to. It evolved into a game. Toothless would spin as fast as she could and try to catch hiccup. And hiccup would taunt her every now and then to keep her interested. The game didn't last terribly long however. Toothless's legs wobbled and her world spun as all her spinning took its toll on her. Stumbling slightly toothless fell to the ground panting.

Hiccup laughed and let go of her tail. "You're going soft, toothless. Maybe we should exercise you more." Toothless glared at him with 1 eye. "And who's fault do you think that is?" hiccup smiled and sat down next to toothless. After a few moment's toothless spoke. "Hiccup…can I ask you something?" hiccup shrugged. "Sure." Toothless took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what was making her ask this. "Do you…..have a mate?" hiccup cocked his head to the side. "A mate? You mean like a wife or a girlfriend?" toothless nodded. "hiccup sighed and shook his head. "No. I don't." a long silence followed that. Then toothless nuzzled hiccup's neck. "Then I'll be yours." Hiccup looked up at her. "What?" again toothless nuzzled his neck. "I'll be your mate." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Why?" toothless gave her version of a shrug. "Why not?" hiccup rolled his eyes. "Well I can think of one big reason." Toothless grinned coyly at him. "That might change soon." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "and just what do you mean by that?" toothless rolled onto her back teasing him. "Just a feeling." Hiccup cocked his head to the side. "What kind of feeling?" again toothless shrugged. "You smell." Hiccup shook his head. "Thanks for that but what feeling do you have?" toothless shook her head and righted herself. "No. your smell is what gives me the feeling. You smell less human, and more like a dragon." Hiccup's eyes widened. "What?" toothless blinked at him for a moment. "What's the big deal? So you're becoming ore dragon like? What's wrong with that?" hiccup rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Well for one thing I happen to live in a village that hunts dragons." Toothless let out deep rumble of laughter at that. "Hunt is not the word I'd use. Get lucky is more like it." Hiccup shook his head. "That's not the point. The point is I can become a dragon and still continue my life there." Toothless stopped moving and looked at him for a long moment before speaking.

"Then….stay with me." As she spoke she leaned in so hiccup's hand ran across her face. Hiccup tried to speak but found that he couldn't. The sudden tenderness from toothless had surprised him; it was out of character even for such a caring dragon as toothless. Luckily or unluckily before hiccup could respond the sound of a twig snapping reached both their ears. Standing up hiccup turned to search for the source of the noise. But proved to be unnecessary as he instantly found the source. 3 terrors slowly plodded into the clearing all of their eyes on toothless who let out a snort. "Go away pests. I'll not deal with you today." The terrors stopped, for a moment before looking to hiccup. "A human?" toothless snorted. "Yes a human. Leave!" hiccup watched as the terrors, turned and slowly slunk out of the clearing. "You don't like them do you?" toothless growled. "They're pests. They steal food, and always get into trouble. The island would be better off without them." hiccup cocked his head. "The island?" toothless nodded. "our home. All local dragon's live on an island far from here." "Then why come here and attack us? If you stayed on your island our 2 people would never meet." As hiccup finished talking he watched toothless's ears go down a sign of fear. "Because….he commands us to." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "He?" toothless nodded. "The…..overlord. He rules our island. If we do what he says, he won't….won't harm us." There was a long silence before, hiccup spoke again. "He's cruel?" toothless nodded. "Yes. Very cruel." Hiccup stood up. "Can anything be done about it?" toothless shook her head. "no." another long pause before hiccup spoke. "Then I'll help you." Toothless looked up at him. "How?" hiccup shook his head. "I don't know. But I'll figure out a way. Maybe after the next full moon." Toothless looked up at the sky for a moment before looking back to hiccup. "Do you think you can kill him?" hiccup shrugged. "I don't know. But I'll try." Looking up at the sky hiccup could just make out the form of the moon, just beginning its trek across the sky.

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AN) WELL FOLKS. I'M REALLY SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS CHAPTER OUT. MOSTLY JUST LIFE GOT IN THE WAY. PLUS I HAD A HUGE STREAK OF WRITERS BLOCK. SORRY.

I'M NOT SAYING UPDATES WILL COME FASTER. BUT I'LL TRY TO WRITE MORE.


	7. the old women

"_A human?" toothless snorted. "Yes a human. Leave!" hiccup watched as the terrors, turned and slowly slunk out of the clearing. "You don't like them do you?" toothless growled. "They're pests. They steal food, and always get into trouble. The island would be better off without them." hiccup cocked his head. "The island?" toothless nodded. "Our home. All local dragon's live on an island far from here." "Then why come here and attack us? If you stayed on your island our 2 people would never meet." As hiccup finished talking he watched toothless's ears go down a sign of fear. "Because….he commands us to." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "He?" toothless nodded. "The…..overlord. He rules our island. If we do what he says, he won't….won't harm us." There was a long silence before, hiccup spoke again. "He's cruel?" toothless nodded. "Yes. Very cruel." Hiccup stood up. "Can anything be done about it?" toothless shook her head. "no." another long pause before hiccup spoke. "Then I'll help you." Toothless looked up at him. "How?" hiccup shook his head. "I don't know. But I'll figure out a way. Maybe after the next full moon." Toothless looked up at the sky for a moment before looking back to hiccup. "Do you think you can kill him?" hiccup shrugged. "I don't know. But I'll try." Looking up at the sky hiccup could just make out the form of the moon, just beginning its trek across the sky. _

CHAPTER 7

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Toothless lay in her cave thinking. She knew what was happening to hiccup. She'd known since the first time she'd seen the growing ink on his body. Every dragon knew the legends of the dragon knights. But never in her life had she thought her hiccup would become one. And now he was in the last stage. That meant that the next time he changed….. He wouldn't need her anymore. Yes she'd come to that conclusion several days ago. One hiccup changed this final time he wouldn't need her to fly anymore. So she had asked about the strange devise hiccup used to fly her, hoping maybe that there was some way she could use it herself. But sadly she could think of no way. Which left only one option open to her. As soon as the sun rose in the sky toothless would head up the mountain and try to find the temple where hiccup and her had been trapped. Legends did say that the same blood that gave power to humans cold also give power to dragons. But would it heal her? Toothless didn't know, or care. As she lay there in the cave a small terror spoke above her. "aww…..little dragon likes the little crunchy human. Masta won't like that. He calls for you, every night….demands other dragons to search for you. To bring you back to be used for the only thing you're good for…..to be his and only his…forever."

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Toothless felt her ears go back, as the terror continued. "what would he think I wonder? You're human, if he found out you're not the noble dragon he thinks you are. What would he do if he found out you're nothing more than a whore to our master?" toothless growled. "get away from here terror. Leave and I won't kill you where to stand." The terror let out a snort. "proud words from a who-" the terror's words were cut off as a blast of flames hit its small body sending out a shockwave of red mist and gore. Shaking her head toothless stood up. She couldn't wait till morning. She wanted to get to the temple now wanted to see if she could be healed. Slowly grudgingly toothless began to make her way towards the mountains. Since she couldn't fly it would take her some time to get to the temple.

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NEXT DAY

HICCUP'S POV

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It started out a feeling of burning in his chest. But as the day wore on it became something much more painful so that by the time hiccup made his way to toothless's clearing it felt like his whole chest was on fire. Looking around the clearing hiccup began to worry. He could see no toothless, anywhere. Not in her cave, or in the lake, or in the meadow, or under the trees. He had been about to go deeper into the cave when he spotted something. A large dragon shaped footprint leaving the cave. Following the tracks with his eyes hiccup felt his blood run cold. The trail of footprints lined up perfectly with the mountains off in the distance. Hiccup groaned and began to follow the tracks.

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TOOTHLESS'S POV

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Climbing the mountains was hard. The rocks were rough and every so often they would cut her feet, and cause her a great deal of pain. But toothless merely ground her teeth and continued on. She had to make it back to the temple. Had to do this. And so she continued onwards up the mountain paths.

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HICCUP'S POV

Hiccup stopped again as his insides churned and warped. The fits were getting more frequent now. more aggressive to. Each one was strong enough to make him have stop in his tracks and wait for it to end before continuing. Continuing on hiccup was glad that toothless's tracks were easy to follow. He was nearing the mountain now.

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TOOTHLESS'S POV

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Climbing the cliffs was hard work but not undoable. Toothless paused for a moment almost vertical on the side of the cliff face. It had taken some time but she had figured out a way to climb the vertical cliff. Using her claws she would latch onto the rocks and boulders that lined the cliff. Then using her wings she would 'jump' a few feet before grabbing the cliff face again. It had taken her hours but using this method she had been able to climb about halfway up the cliff. Her scales were covered in sweat and she was very aware of how far down the ground was. Pushing that thought out of her head toothless turned her attention upwards and continued on.

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HICCUP'S POV

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Hiccup groaned as he came to the face of the mountain. Cursing his luck hiccup looked up at the sheer cliff face in front of him. he could see scratch marks up the side of the cliff which meant toothless had climbed straight up the cliff. Groaning hiccup moved to the face of the cliff and ran his hand over the stone. It was rough. And even as he ran his hand over it bits of the rock crumbled and fell away. Sighing hiccup grabbed a rock and put his weight on it as though he was climbing up. Almost at once the rock crumbled and broke away. Hiccup knelt down and examined the rock closely. As far as he could tell the outer rock lay was loose and easily crumbled away. But the layer underneath was solid. Standing up hiccup move over to the section toothless had started climbing. He had been about to kneel down when another blast of pain rocked his body. The pain was intense that he almost black out. As the pain ebbed away hiccup began examining the spot that toothless had used to begin climbing up. Sure enough it looked as though toothless had been having the same problem he had. Most of the surface rock had crumbled away. Running his hand along the rocks hiccup smiled as he made a discovery. Toothless was using her long claws to dig through the outer layer of rock and use the layer underweight to support her weight. And while this was easy for toothless hiccup groaned as he was no closer to toothless now than he had been before.

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TOOTHLESS'S POV

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Toothless's sides heaved as she panted. It had taken her almost half the day to climb up the cliff. And now that she had made it to the top she could make out the form of the ancient complex. Standing up toothless continued on. High above her the sun began to wane across the sky.

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HICCUP'S POV

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Hiccup growled as another spasm of pain racked his body. Now was not a good time. Not when he was 200 feet in the air hanging on the side of a cliff. After several minutes of examination he'd found that if he used his strength he could drive his fingers through the outer layer of rock and into the under layer which could easily support his body weight as he climbed. However he had to go slowly or he risked making a mistake and now hanging 200 feet in the air a mistake could cost him his life. He'd taken to following toothless's scratch marks. Which laid out an easy path for him to follow. Now he just had to keep climbing. As the pain faded hiccup continued upwards; doing his best not to look down at the rapidly falling earth.

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TOOTHLESS'S POV

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She was there. In the ancient complex that she and hiccup had been in before. Walking amongst the ancient walls and bricks she couldn't help but notice natural had already begun to clime the newly exposed ruins. Vines wound their way through piles of bricks and up the remaining walls. Sniffing the air toothless climbed over the piles of bricks and between walls. She could smell it. The same smell hiccup had had when he'd cut his hand. and she was sure if she found the source of the smell she would find those jars that had begun to change hiccup. Her nose the ground toothless followed the smell and soon found herself in front of a large pile of bricks. Sniffing the bricks toothless began digging at the bricks with her claws. They were there. Buried under the pile of bricks. As the smell got stronger and stronger she began to get more careful. She no longer clawed the bricks out but instead pushed them aside with her nose. As she moved a particularly large brick she found them. Each jar glinted in the fading light like a small diamond. Using her mouth toothless picked up one of the jars and pulled it out from under the pile of bricks. Setting the jar on the ground toothless sniffed it. Sure enough it smells the same as hiccup had after he had been injured. She could smell it, the ancient dragon blood inside the jar. Mixed in with some strange human concoction. Looking up at the sky toothless noted the sun was setting and that she could just make out stars beginning to appear in the fading light. Closing her eyes toothless said a small prayer before looking back down at the jar. For a moment she just stared at it. But then she stood up and brought her front foot down on the jar crushing it and spilling it's contents. Grinding her foot against the ground toothless grunted in pain as she felt lances of pain as the glass shards cut into her foot.

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HICCUP'S POV

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His whole body ached. Panting hiccup pulled himself up and over the cliff face and onto the first bit of horizontal ground he had touched in hours. Every bone and muscle in his body was creaming in exhaustion. It hurt even to breath. But the pain went deeper than that. It felt like his skin was covered in bugs that continuously stung and bit him. his vision swam in front of him and whenever he did move his arms and legs shook almost uncontrollably. But still he managed to crawl along the ground until he found himself no longer crawling on the rough dirt but instead the pot marked bricks that made up the ancient complex. Picking his head of off the ground hiccup scanned the area around him. with no tracks on the ground he couldn't tell where toothless had gone. And it with the sun almost gone light was fading fast. Gasping for breath hiccup did the only thing he could think of, "TOOTHLESS! WHERE ARE YOU!" hiccup winced as the echoes of his scream bounced of the various piles of stones and remaining walls. For several moment he lay there on the ground listening praying to hear toothless's response. Then slowly he began to hear it. It wasn't speaking like he had expected, but instead a low whimper with a low grunt that followed it. Forcing his exhausted body to move hiccup ignored his body's pleadings to stop and pushing himself along the ground towards the source of the noises. It didn't take long for hiccup to find the source. Toothless lay on the ground in front of a like pile of dug out bricks. A few feet behind her hiccup could easily see the crushed form of a large jar. Toothless herself lay on the ground her body shivered and shook uncontrollably, and even as hiccup neared her he could feel the heat rolling off her in waves. "toothless…what….the hell are you doing here?"

.

"she was trying to heal herself." Hiccup spun around gritting his teeth in pain as he did so. Behind him stood a women, but a women unlike any other he'd ever seen. This women wore a series of interlinking plates of armor over her legs, around her thighs plates of metal pushed away from her legs giving the appearance of wings. The women's torso was covered in what looked like a plain brown tunic that tucked under her armored waist and ended in a 'V' shape that started just over her solar plexus and gave a rather risky view of her breasts. The women's arms were bare but around her hands gauntlets that looked like dragon mouths hid her hands from view. The women's face was hard and cold and had only a few wrinkles around the eyes which shown out of their sockets as another worldly silver. Her hair was done up with a series of straps and braces which held her hair in such that it gave the appearance of horns. And all the while her whole body was bathed in a ghostly blue light. Hiccup crawled back a few more feet until his back way against one of toothless's leg. "who…who are you?" the women looked sadly around the ruins and then back at hiccup. "I am…. Was…. High priestess to the dragon knights. Now I'm a ghost….. a monument to the dragon knights and their sins." Hiccup looked unsure to toothless who grunted in pain. "what's wrong with toothless?" the women looked sadly at toothless for a moment. "foreign dragon blood now flows through her veins. To you and me and other humans it transforms us. To other dragons their blood is a lethal poison." Hiccup felt his heart clench. "a poison?" the women nodded. "yes. One for which there is only 1 one cure. Sadly this cure is beyond your reach." Hiccup growled. "I'll do anything. Tell me where to find the antidote." The women smiled. "such fire. The antidote is not a corporeal object but a magical spell. One that can only be performed by the high priest or priestess of the dragon knights." Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "then cast the spell and heal her."

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The women shook her head. Hiccup staggered to his feet and lunged at her drawing his fist back for a punch that never connected. Instead he passed right through her and punched a large pile of bricks behind her. During hiccup collapsed again. Behind him the pile of bricks had been reduced to pebbles. The women shook her head again. "I'm not truly here. All that I am is a shadow, a fragment of a soul that has been caste away from the main section. Like a hair separated from the scalp. I can no more heal your dragon then you can stop the transformations that occur in you even as we speak." "what tranf- ARRRRRGGGG!" hiccup's whole body spasmed, pain blasting through every nerve in his body. His fists clenched and unclenched, his back arched and he found no matter how hard he tried he could not stop the long horrible scream that ripped the air from his lungs. Then all at once his body moved on its own, and pushed him up into a standing position. Every nerve felt like it was on fire, and he was dimply away that the women was speaking. Then all at once the pain vanished and hiccup dropped to his knees. Gasping for breath his body covered in ice cold sweat. In front of him the women spoke. "wont be long now. perhaps 1 or 2 more fits, and your transformation will be complete." Hiccup gasped as he spoke. "what's happening to me? It felt….felt like a dragon was trying to claw its way out of me." Am…. Am I becoming a dragon?" for the first time the women smiled and even let out a small chuckle. "no amount of magic no matter how powerful the caster can turn a human into a dragon. No what is happening to you, is more complex more other worldly. By allowing dragon blood to flow through your veins you have begun to weaken the veil that surrounds you. In doing this your body can allow dragon spirits to lend you their worldly form and for a time allow you to pass as a dragon in this corporal world."

.

Hiccup shook his head unsure idly. "I don't understand." The women nodded. "Few do at first. The veil is a kind of protection, a kind of curtain that blocks all human's from the view of demons and those in other worlds who wish them harm. The dragon's blood in your body has weakened your veil. It is this veil that make gives a human his or her humanity. By weakening the veil around you; you have gained abilities far greater than any mortal human, while at the same time you have allowed yourself to be seen by those demons who we tried to hide from the most. In the days of old when a dragon knight was about to pass their final rite they would be taken to a room and left there; hidden away from all those who could or would wish them harm. There they could ascend in peace without fear of interference. They did not feel the pain that you feel now." hiccup nodded. "But…why do I feel the pain? What causes it?" the women again smiled. "That pain dear boy is the pain of demon's tearing at your soul trying to find a way into your body so they can possess you." Hiccup stiffened in fear but the women merely shook her head. "Do not fear child. They cannot possess you, not without your permission. But there is a more pressing matter at hand." the women turned from hiccup and glided over to toothless. "she is dying." Hiccup stagger to his feet and painfully made his way over until he was kneeling on the ground next to toothless. Her body was if possible even hotter, every now and then she would try to move but let out a moan of pain and become still. "Is…is there anything that can be done for her?" the women looked at him. "In the days of old a high priest or priestess would be called and they would cast a deep healing spell that would cure the dragon of this ailment. However with no priest or priestess there is no one to cast the spell." Hiccup looked from toothless to the women. "Please….I'll do anything for her." The narrowed her eyes. "Anything?" he nodded and she continued.

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"Would you die for her? Would you willing sacrifice your chance at eternal life so that she might live?" hiccup didn't even need time to think. "Yes. I would. I would die for her." The women smiled. "Then follow me. And we will see if we can find a high priest." Hiccup looked back to toothless. "What about toothless? We can just leave her here." The women shook her head. "Fear not child. She is not so close to death that we must coddle her. But if we do not leave now she will have no hope of survival, and your willingness to sacrifice yourself will be for not." hiccup didn't move for a moment. Then he slowly knelt down next to her head and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry toothless. I'll be back. I promise." One of toothless's eyes opened and weakly she spoke. "Hiccup…I…..I…I lo-" but hiccup only smiled. He could feel tears falling from his eyes. Not tears of sadness but tears of joy. "I know toothless. I feel the same way." Behind him the women cleared her throat. "how very touching. Come now boy we must go. Or would you rather watch your beloved dragon die?" hiccup shook his head and gave toothless a final kiss of the forehead. As he did so he left toothless's tongue lick his check. Standing up hiccup noted the burning feeling in his chest. Turning away from toothless hiccup turned towards the women. "where must I go?" the women smiled and gestured for him to follow. Each step away from toothless felt like a knife tearing at his insides. Slowly the women led him through the ancient ruins until they came to a large metal and wood door that stood on the very edge of the complex. As they stopped the women spoke. "This door leads to a world that is rules by 5 great lords. Each lord represents a curse of man. To become a high priest you must be able to not only defeat each lord but understand what it is that makes them so dangerous."

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Hiccup's head snapped towards the women. "me…a high priest? But I'm not….I mean I…. cant-" the women smiled. "Was it all a lie then? You will you not sacrifice yourself for her?" hiccup was silent for a moment. "no. it was not a lie. What must I do?" the women smiled again and pointed. "you must open the door and walk through it. And when you do you will find yourself in, and Overworld. Do not be afraid. I will be with you every step of the way." Hiccup looked at the women for a moment longer before stepping forward and opening the door. He wasn't sure what he had expected to see. But what he did see was enough to make his question his sanity. It was just what was on the other side of the door. A tree, a rock and dirt. Looking back at the women hiccup had been about to speak when the women smile and nodded. "Step forward boy. If you are crazy what harm could it do you?" hiccup turned back to the open door. Taking a deep breath he stood there for a moment before stepping forward and through the door. As soon as his foot touched the ground on the other side his world went black, and the last thing he heard was the women chuckling.

* * *

AN: SHIT FOLKS IT'S BEEN WHAT ALMOST A YEAR SINCE I'VE UPDATED THIS STORY?

A BIG THANKS TO AL THOSE WHO HAVE STUCK WITH ME THROUGH THIS.

I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTER WONT TAKE ME THIS LONG TO WRITE.

ON A LITTLE SIDE NOTE. THE MYSTERIOUS WOMEN'S VOICE IS SUPPOSED TO SOUND LIKE FLEMETH FROM DRAGON AGE 2.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HICCUP, AND WILL HE SURVIVE? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

AS ALWAYS REVIEWS ARE WANTED AND NEEDED!

EVERYONE BE SURE TO GIVE A BIG THANKS TO RoyceTheHedgehog FOR MAKING ME INTERESTED IN THIS STORY AGAIN.


	8. rage's kingdom

_Hiccup's head snapped towards the women. "me…a high priest? But I'm not….i mean I…. cant-" the women smiled. "Was it all a lie then? You will you not sacrifice yourself for her?" hiccup was silent for a moment. "no. it was not a lie. What must I do?" the women smiled again and pointed. "you must open the door and walk through it. And when you do you will find yourself in, and Overworld. Do not be afraid. I will be with you every step of the way." Hiccup looked at the women for a moment longer before stepping forward and opening the door. He wasn't sure what he had expected to see. But what he did see was enough to make his question his sanity. It was just what was on the other side of the door. A tree, a rock and dirt. Looking back at the women hiccup had been about to speak when the women smile and nodded. "Step forward boy. If you are crazy what harm could it do you?" hiccup turned back to the open door. Taking a deep breath he stood there for a moment before stepping forward and through the door. As soon as his foot touched the ground on the other side his world went black, and the last thing he heard was the women chuckling._

_._

CHAPTER 8

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Hiccup staggered to his feet. His head was pounding, his eyes burned and every fiber of his body ached with exhaustion. Opening his eyes hiccup rubbed his forehead as he looked around. The first thing he noticed was the world around him had changed. Everything seemed to be covered in a thin fog that blurred the outline of things around him. Straightening up hiccup turned as a voice behind him spoke. "So you've finally awoken. Glad to see you survived." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Survived? I could have died?" the women nodded. "There was the possibility. Some people simply can't survive the transition between worlds. But now that you have you can make good on your promise and defeat the 5 curse lords and become the dragon knight's high priest." Hiccup nodded and took a step forward before stopping. "wait." The women sighed and turned to face him. "What is it now?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes. "Tell me more about these lords." The women nodded. "I suppose it is natural for you to be curious. We as human exist in such a crude way. Matter, magic, life. In our world they all exist because rules say it can and must. This is the Overworld. Thing exist because they wish to exist. In this world virtues and sins have a clearly defined form. They exist as solid as you or me. However we're after the 5 curse lords. Each lord represents a curse that man must endure." Hiccup nodded. "So….. they're like sins?" the women shook her head. "an understandable mistake. Sins are actions human choose to commit. Lust, gluttony, Sloth, these are traits a person must choose to allow into their lives. A curse is something we have no say in. we MUST suffer them no matter how hard we try to avoid them. That being said pride exists as both a sin and a curse. The curse lords follow the order of rage, ignorance, fear, intolerance, and pride."

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Hiccup nodded. "Each lord rules over their own kingdom in the Overworld. And it is each of these lords that you must defeat. Upon defeating each lord you'll be given a boon. A kind of peace offering from the lord to you." Hiccup cocked his head. "Why would they give me a boon?" the women smiled. "When and if you survive becoming a high priest you will gain considerable power. This power will be more than a match for even their own. This offering is s that you don't come back and destroy them. Understand?" Hiccup nodded. "I think so. But how will I defeat each lord?" the women smiled. "There are many ways to defeat them. But with our limited time I would think sword and shield would be your best option. However it is really up to you. But come now. The first lord waits." Hiccup nodded and fell in line behind the women who followed a small path that seemed to glow along the blurry ground. For how long they walked Hiccup wasn't sure. He was too busy looking around him in away. The Overworld was amazing. It looked like his own world except every now and then something would happen that was impossible. For instance one part of their trail led them past a lake that floated in the air. Just a massive blob of water hanging suspended as if by magic. Another time as they walked through what seemed to be a forest the wolf lept into their path, and while the wolf looked relatively normal it had 7 tails, and seemed to bow to them before running off again. Hiccup was so busy looking around that he did not notice when the women stopped. The only reason he stopped was when he ran into her back. Staggering back he heard the women chuckle. "The Overworld is an incredible place is it not?" Hiccup could only nod.

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They had come to another large door. This door however was framed by flames that licked at large metal door. And yet the flames gave off no heat that he could feel. The women smiled. "the path to rage is often composed of anger that burns like a raging fire. How fitting then that the door to rage's world is also made of fire. Go on boy. Open the door." Hiccup nodded and hesitantly reached for the door. With no particular means of grasping the door Hiccup could only push at the door. It swung open almost at once. Beyond the door lay a forest. But a forest that seemed to be in a state of eternal flames. Fire licked at the branches of the trees and yet there was no smoke, and no heat from the flames. As they walked though the flames Hiccup noticed it was not only the trees that were aflame but the animals as well. Several times birds flew past them their wings on fire and yet they appeared to be in no pain. After what felt like forever they stopped. They were in a large clearing. All around them trees bathed in flames. On the far side of the clearing a throne sat with someone sitting in it. The person seemed to be in the form of a man. But his skin was ablaze with flames. Even his eyes seemed to glow with an inner flame. As they stopped the being of flames stood up. "you dare enter my kingdom?" the women nodded. "Yes, As is my right. This boy is to be the next high priest." Rage nodded. "I would gladly draw my sword. But the boy has no way of defending himself. While I may be a being of uncontrollable rage I will not attack a unarmed opponent." The women nodded and turned to Hiccup. As she turned she waved her hand. a flash of light later and a sword appeared in Hiccup's right hand while a shield appeared on his left arm.

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Looking his up from his new weapons Hiccup watched as rage reached behind him and pulled a HUGE sword out from its sheath. He barely had time to register the size of the sword before rage lunged at him, covering the entire distance of the clearing in maybe a second. He barely had time to bring his new shield up in front of him before rage swung his sword at him, hell bent on removing his head from his body. Rage's sword met Hiccup's shield the strength of the blow enough to make his whole body shake. Staggering back Hiccup brought his shield up again as rage lashed out at him. Each blow felt stronger than the last. Retreating back Hiccup watched as rage swung his sword again. Bring his shield up Hiccup met rage's blow and then stepped forward and swiped his sword at rage's chest. A move which rage easily dodged by stepping back. Hiccup took rage's momentary opening to press his attack. Taking another step forward and bring his sword above his head and bringing it down towards rage's right arm. Rage easily deflected the blow, and returned with another furious flurry of attacks that Hiccup was barely able to dodge or deflect. He was losing and he knew it. For every attack he threw at rage, rage threw 3 more at him. Leaping back to avoid another attack Hiccup heard rage begin to laugh. "This is your best? This boy is not worth my time!" Hiccup watched as rage stopped his attack, sheathed his sword and began to laugh. "boy you're nothing. Nothing." Hiccup felt fury boil in his stomach. Charging forward Hiccup tried as hard as he could to slice rage's face off. Rage didn't even draw his sword; he just ducked, spun and weaved away from Hiccup's attacks. As he bobbed and weaved rage spoke. "That's right. Keep attacking me. I can feel your anger building."

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Hiccup stopped attacking and stared at rage who just kept talking. "human's are such fun creatures. All your emotions are on the surface. All your anger, sadness, happiness; It's all right there. All I have to do is keep pushing your buttons, and your anger will give me more strength that you can imagine." Hiccup felt his eyes widen as he realized something. Taking a steping forward Hiccup brought his sword down in front of him. Rage took a step back. "what are you doing?" Hiccup smiled. As powerful as rage was he'd revealed the source of his powers. Hiccup's own emotions. Closing his eyes Hiccup focuses on his task. He had to let it go. Let it all go. All of his fear, all of his anger, all of it. Opening his eyes Hiccup stood up and gripped the hilt of his sword. Rage seemed to be frozen as Hiccup pulled the sword out of the ground. But as he did so rage lunged forward sending a wild swing towards him. easily stepping the blow aside Hiccup brought his sword up at rage's chest. A moment later he felt his sword cut into something warm. Turning he watched as rage dropped his sword and then dropped to his knees. After several moments rage spoke.

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"i…yield." Off in the distance the women spoke. "what did you say rage?" rage repeated himself. "I yield." The women smiled. "a wise choice." After another moment rage stood up and Hiccup was startled to see that the cut he had landed on rage's chest had vanished. He watched as rage turned around and walked back to his throne and sat down. "boy step forward." Hiccup did as he was talked and walked until he stood in front of rage; who folded his fingers together and looked at him for several minutes before speaking. "Rage is a powerful ally. It can make any warrior a demon on the battlefield. But rage has its other uses. Rage can numb pain, increase body endurance, even stave off death for a time. Remember this. Now be gone." Hiccup had been about to turn and leave when the women spoke from behind him. "rage…..the boy's boon? You've yet to grant him one. Or do you wish him to destroy you?" Hiccup watched as rage sighed and spoke.

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"very well. I offer you a choice young warrior. A blade, or a shield. The sword is sharp, sharp enough to cut through almost any substance in this world and in yours. And will channel your inner rage to strengthen any blow you throw with it. A fine weapon for a warrior. Or the shield to use to protect you or those you care for. The shield will turn your rage inward, and will allow you to avoid agonizing pain…for a time. Choose you're boon boy. And choose wisely."

* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS GUNNA END IT HERE.

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. SHOULD HICCUP CHOOSE THE SWORD OR THE SHIELD?

HICCUP GOT LUCK WITH RAGE HOW WILL HE FAIR AGAINST IGNORANCE? READ THE NEXT CHAPTER TO FIND OUT!


	9. the overworld libary

"very well. I offer you a choice young warrior. A blade, or a shield. The sword is sharp, sharp enough to cut through almost any substance in this world and in yours. And will channel your inner rage to strengthen any blow you throw with it. A fine weapon for a warrior. Or the shield to use to protect you or those you care for. The shield will turn your rage inward, and will allow you to avoid agonizing pain…for a time. Choose you're boon boy. And choose wisely."

_._

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CHAPTER 9

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After a moment of silence rage nodded and raised his hand. "so be it." Hiccup watched as rage snapped his fingers and pointed at him. the flames that danced around the edge of the clearing now lept from their places and raced towards Hiccup who took an instinctive step backwards. but the flames ignored his fear and leapt from the ground up to his shield. Hastily Hiccup dropped his shield to the ground and watched as the flames licked and burned the wooden surface, crafting intricate symbols and patterns into the shield's surface; while at the same time turning the shield solid black. As the flames lapped at his shield rage spoke. "Remember boy. To be allied with rage is a fragile alliance at best. This shield will protect you from pain….for a time. Never forget that." Hiccup nodded and watched amazed as the flames retreated from his shield. Picking up his shield Hiccup looked at the surface which had been transformed. In the center of the shield 3 large spirals now radiated outwards. At the end of each spiral a small red gem glinted in the light. And connecting each gem a series of lines composed of mysterious symbols, in a form of writing Hiccup had never seen before. From his throne rage spoke. "Your boon has been granted. Leave my kingdom." Hiccup turned to his companion the old women who smiled and nodded. Falling in line behind the women Hiccup followed her out of the clearing and down a winding path that lead away from rage's clearing.

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As they walked the women spoke. "You did well fighting rage. It usually takes people much longer to realize rage's source of powers if their own rage. You did well." Hiccup smiled. "thanks." The women chuckled. "in my day rage put up more of a fight. Why I remember when I fought her she came at me with a hammer the size of a child." Hiccup stopped. "her?" the women stopped and turned back at him smiling. "Just as our world as generations so does this world. The rage I fought was not the same rage you fought. But come. Rage will not take kindly to us loitering in his kingdom." Hiccup nodded and continued following the women. After several minutes of walking in silence Hiccup spoke. "sooooooo…who are you?" the women chuckled but kept walking. "As I have told you I'm a shard of the last dragon knight priestess's soul." Hiccup nodded. "Well… I got that. I mean what's your name?" the women stopped but did not turn to face him. After a moment she spoke. "in this world names have a particular power over their holders. I had many names. But you may call me Rowena." Hiccup nodded slowly as Rowena continued walking. After another few moments of silence they found themselves outside the flaming forest. Looking around hiccup found himself staring up at the 'sky'. The sky itself was pitching black but what struck Hiccup were the stars. They shown out of the dark night sky like diamonds glinting in the sunlight.

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After another moment Hiccup spoke. "soooooo this next kingdom. Where is it?" Rowena smiled and pointed to one of the stars that shone down at them. "there." Hiccup nodded slowly. "sooooooo how do we get there?" Rowena smiled again. "we fly. To be more precise, I fly us there. Stand back and try not to get in the way." Hiccup did as he was told and retreaded abut 50 feet away before turning so he could watch what Rowena was doing. He watched as she raised her arms on each side and closed her eyes. A moment later he almost jumped out of his skin as he heard a loud roar shake the ground around him. a dragon was flying towards them, it's eyes burning with flames, it's scales the color of the blood. As the dragon neared Rowena it began to glow and the closer it got the less physical it seemed to become. That that by the time it was directly in front of her it was nothing but a glowing outline of a dragon. Hiccup watched as the dragon landed on the ground in front of Rowena and let out another roar that shook the ground. Hiccup watched half amazed half terrified as the outline of Rowena began to glow as the roar prolonged. Hiccup watched as Rowena's outline became so bright that he wasn't even able to look at it directly. As the roar ended the dragon crouched down and then pushed off the ground and took back to the sky. Meanwhile Rowena's had become a glowing form of nothing but light. Hiccup felt his eyes widen as the form of light in front of him began to grow and twist in form. But now the glow was fading and Hiccup felt his breath catch as he watched Rowena's form 'cool' into the form of a dragon. The dragon Rowena looked at him. _'climb on.' _Hiccup flinched and spun around looking for the source of the voice. "who's there?"

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'_it is me Rowena. This is how I must talk in this form. Get on we haven't much time.' _Hiccup nodded and slowly pulled himself up onto Rowena's back. He barely had time to grip onto 2 large spines on rowena's shoulders before she spread her wings and they were off, soaring up into the sky and towards 1 of the many identical stars in the sky. After several moments of flying in silence Rowena spoke. _'how do you feel?'_ Hiccup shrugged. "I'm….ok." _'good. Be aware of how you feel. This world is not like ours. What our eyes see is almost never what really happened. The lights and shadows themselves are alive here. The only true thing you can know is real is yourself and your feelings. Listen to them and trust what they have to say.' _Hiccup nodded. "um…..can I ask something?"_'of course'_ "how did you become a dragon?" _by channeling the dragon spirit inside me. Something you'll learn soon enough.' _"what do you mean?" _'a dragon spirit will choose you as it's emissary. When that happens you'll be able to channel that dragon spirit whenever you need to.' _"how will I know when 1 has chosen me?" _'it will present itself to you and ask if you accept it as your dragon spirit. We're getting close. Be ready. Ignorance is not to be underestimated.' _

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Hiccup's head snapped up and sure enough they were nearing their destination. Landing on the new world Hiccup looked around. There was nothing here. Just a flat plain of stone bricks laid into the ground. But when Rowena resumed her human form she gestured for Hiccup to follow her. Leading him a short distance Hiccup found himself looking into a small passage way that led downward. Following Rowena downward Hiccup made his way through the winding passage way for several minutes before emerging into a large balcony overlooking an even larger chamber. His jaw almost hit the floor. While the balcony itself was empty of anything the chamber beyond was not. row upon rows of books and scrolls sat in the chamber. So many rows in fact that he couldn't even see the end of them they just vanished into darkness at the other end of the chamber. Atop the chamber a large glowing crystal provided minimal light. Just enough to see but not enough to see well. Next to him Rowena spoke. "welcome Hiccup To ignorance's world. The Overworld library. In these dusty tomes every thought, and idea that has been, will be, or is; is recorded. The thoughts of kings, commoners, even holy men are recorded here. I believe there is even a section for animals in her somewhere." Hiccup could only looked out across the sea of bookshelves. As he did so however something caught his eye. A rustling amongst the shelves. Narrowing his eyes Hiccup strained trying to see what was moving amongst the dust tomes and novels.

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Rowena smiled and spoke. "WE WISH AN AUDUENCE WITH IGNORANCE!" for several moments nothing happened. But then a flapping of wings caught Hiccup's attention and he watched amazed as a large bird soared down at them from the 'sky'. The bird however was unlike any bird Hiccup had ever seen. If he had to describe it he would have called it a book-bird. The bird seemed to be made up of pages from a book. While it looked just a like a normal bird instead of feathers it seemed to be made out of paper, with large writing covering it's body. Even as t landed on Rowena's shoulder Hiccup watched amazed as the bird began to literally unfold itself until nothing but 1 sheet of paper lay in rowena's hand. smiling Rowena had been about to speak when the ground began to shake. Grabbing onto a large column for balance Hiccup watched stunned as the large sea of book cases began to move. He watched as some shelves turned sideways while others remained still, while others sunk down into the ground vanishing from site while still others sprang up like flowers. He was forced to stanger back however when a massive shelves sprang up in front of the balcony shielding his view of the changing book shelves. For several more minutes the ground shook and Hiccup could only imagine what was going on. But as the shaking lessened Rowena spoke. "ignorance knows you're here and why you've come. This is his test." Hiccup watched as Rowena looked down at the paper in her hand and began to read. "here we sit 3. Only us and only 3. Each passage a test; a test you must best." As she spoke Hiccup watched as 3 bookcases sank down into the floor revealing 3 passages. "but be warned once your path is chosen there is no turning back. To see your rewards read their plaques." Hiccup looked to Rowena. "plaques? What plaques?" Rowena smiled and pointed next to one of passages. Sure enough a plaque had appeared next to the entrance to the passage. Moving forward Hiccup clutched his shield and sword tightly as he read the metal plate.

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'he who enters this passage shall learn the secrets of his world. A world that is held together by 6 primal elements.' Moving to the second plaque Hiccup continued. 'he who enters this passage shall learn of true combat. Combat in all its glory and all its horror.' And the third plaque. 'he who enters this passage shall learn of knowledge. True unrestrained knowledge.' Hiccup turned and look at Rowena who only smiled. "I cannot help you Hiccup. This is as much a challenge as was combating rage. Only you can choose." Hiccup nodded and slowly turned back to the passages.

* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 9 IS UP AND DONE. I KNOW THE WAIT WAS NOT WORTH THE LENGTH BUT I HAD A BIT OF A HEALTH SCARE SO THAT'S WHY IT TOOK SO LONG.

WELL AGAIN IT'S TIME FOR YOUR INPUT. WHAT SHALL HICCUP LEARN? ELEMENTS, COMBAT, OR KNOWLEDGE? CAST YOUR VOTE NOW.

SO JUST TO BE FAIR HERE ARE THE VOTES BETWEEN THE SWORD AND THE SHIELD IN THE LAST CHAPTER. I GOT A FEW VOTES FROM THE REVIEWS BUT I GOT A LOT FROM PERSONAL MESSAGES. WHICH I'M FINE WITH. FEEL FREE TO SEND IN YOU VOTE THROUGH THE MESSAGE SYSTEM.

SWORD: 11

SHIELD: 17

HOPE TO HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT MUCH QUICKER THAN THIS ONE.

HOPE EVERYONE LIKES THE CHAPTER.


	10. a tomegolem and librarians!

'_he who enters this passage shall learn the secrets of his world. A world that is held together by 6 primal elements.' Moving to another plaque Hiccup continued. 'he who enters this passage shall learn of true combat. Combat in all its glory and all its horror.' And the third plaque. 'he who enters this passage shall learn of knowledge. True unrestrained knowledge.' Hiccup turned and look at Rowena who only smiled. "I cannot help you Hiccup. This is as much a challenge as was combating rage. Only you can choose." Hiccup nodded and slowly turned back to the passages._

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CHAPTER 10

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Looking at each passage Hiccup made his choice. Stepping forward Hiccup entered the passage for elements. He had gone maybe 10 feet inside when the ground shook again. Spinning around Hiccup watched slightly fearful as the entrance to the passage became blocked by another bookcase. Turning back around Hiccup watched as along the bookcases small torches began to flicker into existence as though being lit by some invisible flame. Moving forward Hiccup heard Rowena speak behind him. "be weary. Ignorance is well known for his tricks and traps." Nodding Hiccup gripped his shield a bit tighter as he began to make his was down the long passageway. The passage wasn't too dark but it was difficult to see. Several times Hiccup had to stop and blink away the dust that his breath seemed to blow off the old tomes. As they walked Hiccup couldn't help but find himself glancing at some of the books that lined the shelves. While most of them were in strange loopy writing but a few of them he was able to read. _'a history of thought, a compendium of ideas, the wonders of the spleen.'_ Hiccup could only read on and on as he made his way down the passageways. That was until he found the passageway widening and soon found himself standing in a large room. Like before the walls were made of hundreds of bookcases but unlike before these books seemed too lack the dust that others had. In fact it looked as though they books had just been placed on the shelves by someone. On the far side of the wall another passage moved deeper into the ancient library. Stepping forward Hiccup had been about to cross the room when a blast of wind sprung up all around him. shielding his eyes Hiccup felt the wind intensify and become so strong that it tore several books off their shelves and ripped open the covers exposing the pages to the high winds.

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Hiccup was forced to cover himself with his shield as several books just above him feel from their shelves. But as they feel Hiccup realized something. No matter where in the room they fell the winds always carried them into a large growing pile of books in the center of the room. Slowly hiccup felt the wind begin to die down. In the center of the room the large pile of books sat. dozens of books had been torn from their shelves and now littered the middle of the room. Hiccup had been about to take a step forward when Rowena spoke. "careful I can feel magic in the air." No sooner had Rowena said that when another blast of wind hit the room. But unlike the first blast this blast did not tear past Hiccup. No this blast of wind stayed in the center of the room and caused the books to whip around violently. Even as he watched pages from the books were torn from their binding and began whipping around in the wind. Hiccup took a step backwards as the pages began flying around but even as he watched the pages seemed to be moving as if being controlled by some mysterious force. Hiccup watched as the pages began swirling in a large vortex. He watched stunned and amazed as the pages began to take on a form. As the pages whirled around they would fold themselves and begin to work together like a giant puzzle. Before his eyes Hiccup watched the pages begin to take the shape of a very large man. As the winds began to die down for the second time Hiccup raised his shield uncertain. In the center of the room now stood a large human form. But it was far larger than any human Hiccup had ever seen. No this 'being' towered above him. and looked more like a monster than anything else. Behind him Hiccup heard Rowena speak. "hmmm a tome-golem. Not many of them are left."

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Hiccup had been about to speak when the golem lumbered towards him swinging its massive arms like clubs and forcing him to duck or risk being crushed. Rolling to his right Hiccup dodged another blow by the golem and lunged forward burying his sword in the creature's chest. He might as well had kicked it. The sword just passed harmlessly through the pages that made up the golem's skin. The golem however did not seem to like being stabbed because it grabbed Hiccup and with one arm hurled him across the room and slammed him into a large bookshelf. As he fell to the floor Hiccup felt the ground begin to shake. Looking up he cursed his luck. The golem was charging him and he barely had to get away before the golem would crush him. rolling to the right Hiccup watched as the golem slammed head first into the wall of bookcases. in response the golem let out a loud roar and swung it's arms tearing even more books from their shelves. Turning towards Hiccup the golem lumbered towards him it's arms out stretched ready to grab him. running backwards Hiccup did he best to avoid the golem. A feat made easy by the fact that he was small and the golem was large. As he ran Hiccup could hear the golem crashing into the walls of books. Hiccup groaned as he knelt down trying to regain his breath. Across the room the golem had crashed into another bookshelf and had actually gotten it's head stuck in the ancient wood. Even as Hiccup knelt there he watched as the golem struggled to pull its head out. Hiccup gasped deep breaths as he watched the golem struggle. The air felt good. His sides felt like they were on fire. but he watched as the golem gave 1 large pull and came free of the shelf.

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As Hiccup stood up he readied himself to begin running again. But as the golem took a step forward something changed. Hiccup watched as the golem staggered back and began rapidly trying to get something off its foot. Narrowing his eyes Hiccup felt something click in his mind. When the golem had pulled its head out of the bookshelf it had torn several shelves from their places. And with those shelves had come one of the torches had had been anchored by shelf. When the touch had hit the ground it had landed near the golem's foot, and had caused several pages to begin to smoke. Hiccup felt his eyes widen. Of course the golem was still made of paper and there for flammable. Running forward Hiccup dropped down and slid along his legs as above him the golem swung its massive arms like clubs. Passing under the arm Hiccup pushed himself back up to his feet and took a running leap against one of the nearby shelves. Using the shelves like steps Hiccup clambered up 5 shelves before reaching out and grabbing a nearby torch. At first he was afraid it wouldn't come free. But his fear quickly vanished as he twisted the torch and pulled it free from its holder. Dropping back down hiccup landed and spun around only to duck again as the golem swung it's arms mere inches above his face. As the arm swung over him Hiccup reached up with the torch and watched as the flames lapped at the dry and dusty parchment that composed the golem's body.

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The effect was instant. The golem lumbered back, franticly trying to slap the flames away with its other hand. but the flames just moved from the golem's arm to the hand and began to spread. Hiccup almost felt sorry for the golem as he watched it slowly be consumed by the flames all the while still trying to extinguish them. He watched as the golem's movements slowly and became less and less frantic as it's paper form burned away, each page becoming a charred pile of ash on the floor. Slowly the golem began to fall apart it's skin turning to ash. Hiccup watched as the last of the golem vanished and fall to the floor. Slowly Hiccup set the torch he was holding down. Turning he spoke. "what now?" Rowena smiled, and pointed. "now you get your first Tier." Turning back around Hiccup felt another wind kick up around him. Hiccup readied himself for another attack, an attack that never came. Instead he watched as the winds swept up the ash that was covering the floor and pulled it up into the air, and into a large spiral ash cloud that began to shrink inwards as in continuously spun. Hiccup watched as the cloud compressed and shrunk until it was no longer a cloud but a large rock that stuck up from the ground. Even as he stood there unsure of what to do or even what was happening, the winds died down leaving only the large ash stone in the middle of the room. Unsure of what to do, Hiccup looked at Rowena who smiled. "it's an attenuator." Hiccup shook his head. "what's that?" Rowena chuckled. "it's an ancient magical devise that tunes the user's spiritual energy to a specific frequency. Basically it alters your spiritual frequency so you're are more in tune with a specific energy. In this case that energy would appear to be wind." Hiccup nodded slowly. "Soooooo what do I do with it?" again Rowena chuckled.

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"you touch it. Go on boy. It won't bite. They don't usually." Hiccup nodded and hesitantly took a step towards the attenuator. Slowly Hiccup reached up and touched the cold grey surface of the devise. No sooner had he touched the surface then he felt a shock pass though his body. Instantly his mind's eye saw a man with his hands outspread summoning a large blast of wind. Then all at once reality slammed back to him. staggering backwards Hiccup was forced to drop down to the ground to stop himself from falling. Behind him Rowena spoke. "what did you see?" Hiccup took several shuddering breaths before speaking. "a man, summoning a wave of wind." Rowena nodded. "now you must do as the man did. Hold out your arms and call forth the wind." Hiccup unsureidly held his arms out like he'd seen the man. Nothing happened. Behind him he heard Rowena sigh. "you really do need help don't you? Your human not a spirit you can't just call the wind and expect it to come to you. You have to will it, to want the wind to come. To want to control it. Try again." Mentally hiccup rolled his as he dropped his arms back to his sides. Closing his eyes Hiccup began to focus. A moment later his eye snapped open and his arms snapped up, while he shouted. "wind!" at once he felt the wind explode around him every book in the room was torn from its place on the shelf, a a blast of wind tore through the room. But the wind only lasted for a second before it vanished leaving the air filled with fluttering tomes and pages. Behind him Rowena chuckled again. Perhaps you're not as hopeless as I'd thought. But come. We must keep moving." Hiccup nodded and soon found himself following the dusty passage, that led deeper into the maze of shelves and tomes. As he walked he spoke. "the plaque at the beginning of the passage mentioned 6 elements. I thought there were only 4." Behind him Rowena nodded. "yes. There are. 4 main elements. Fire, wind, water, and earth. The last 2 are composite elements. And can only be made by combining 2 elements together. Those elements are lightning, and metal."

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Hiccup nodded and had been about to speak when he rounded a corner and stopped dead in his tracks. He and Rowena were no longer alone in the passage. In front of them along the walls of the dozens of short clocked figures buzzed around the bookshelves. Some stood on the floor, while others scrambled up the shelves like shrouded spiders and dropped books down to the lower figures. And still others tossed books over their shoulders and allowed them to collect in the middle of the passage. Behind him Hiccup heard Rowena inhale sharply. "don't move." Hiccup leaned back slowly and began to whisper. "what…what are they?" "ignorance's librarians. Beings who are some consumed by their desire to learn that even in death they maintain this library. We should try to find a way around them." "why?" "they are very…possessive of their knowledge. If they discover you're here they'll assume you're here to steal their knowledge. I've seen what they're capable of. We don't want to be caught. "ok… let's back up and try to find a way around them." "ok." But this turned out to be useless. Even after walking back to the last room 3 times Hiccup could find no other path around the librarians. And now he stood just behind the corner that led to the librarian filled passage. Looking to Rowena Hiccup spoke. "we'll have to go through their passage. Any advice?" Rowena was silent for a moment, then; "don't make physical contact. They SHOULD ignore you so long as you don't touch them, or any of the books." Hiccup nodded and turned to move into the passage…. Only to run into one of the figures as it rounded the corner.

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It happened in a flash. Hiccup stumbled backwards off balance. At the same time the cloaked figured, let out an ear splitting scream and tore something out from under it's cloak and hurled itself at Hiccup who could barely bring his shield up in time. The figure hit his shield dead center only it's head and arms visible around the shield face. In 1 of it's hands it clutched a nasty looking curved dagger. But it's scream must have alerted the others because even as Hiccup threw it off of his shield dozens more figured rounded the corner each with their own dagger and each one moving to swarm him. Hiccup feel to the ground as he tried to ward off the incoming figures. His arm shook with the force of holding his shield up as dozens of figures stabbed and tore at it. With his sword Hiccup did his best to fight off the few figures that managed to get past his shield. But this proved useless and more and more of the creatures slammed against his shield making his arm buckle, causing him to drop the shield. Instantly they were on him, Hiccup franticly whipped his sword through the air hopping to fend off the small figures. But they ignored it. Even the one he managed to clip in the shoulder; seemed to shrug the damage off and continue clawing its way up his shirt heading for Hiccup's face. The all at once Hiccup screamed, as he felt cold metal plunge into the soft flesh of his thigh. He could feel it, the dagger, cutting his skin, his muscle. He could feel his blood dripping out of the wound; leaving him weak and unable to think clearly. But now the other figures began stabbing him. white hot explosions of pain covered his body as dozens of daggers cut through his clothes, skin and muscle. His vision swam in front of his eyes and he was half tempted to ignore the figures stabbing him and just close his eyes.

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But as his eyes drifted closed he heard someone shout. "BACK! BACK YOU ABONIATIONS! BACK!" his whole body ached but he managed to lift his head up an inch or so to see who was shouting. A man stood in front of him. the man wore a set of what looked like heavy battle plate armor, with a large cross carved into the back. His head was covered in a helmet, and in his hands he clutched a shield that had been fashioned to look like a cross, while in the other hand he clutched a large broad sword. Hiccup watched as the stranger took a step forward and swung his sword at the librarians who scurried away. But his vision was fading now, even as he fought for consciousness he watched as the stranger turned and looked at him. as he blacked out he heard Rowena speak. "faith…..what are you doing here?"

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 10 IS UP AND DONE.

WHAT DID EVERYONE THINK?

SO AGAIN HERE'S THE TALLY FOR THE VOTES. O GOT MOST OF THESE THROUGH MESSAGING.

ELEMENTS: 17

KNOWLEDGE: 15

COMBAT: 9

HOPE EVERYONE LIKED THE TOME-GOLEM. IT WAS REALLY FUN TO WRITE.

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW? WILL HICCUP LIVE? WILL HE DIE?

AND WHO IS FAITH? AND WHY DID HE SAVE HICCUP?

READ THE NEXT CHAPTER TO FIND OUT.

OH ALSO WANNA SEND OUT A SHOUT OUT TO (DRAGONHWAKE186).

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT!


	11. attenuators and choices

_But as his eyes drifted closed he heard someone shout. "BACK! BACK YOU ABONIATIONS! BACK!" his whole body ached but he managed to lift his head up an inch or so to see who was shouting. A man stood in front of him. the man wore a set of what looked like heavy battle plate armor, with a large cross carved into the back. His head was covered in a helmet, and in his hands he clutched a shield that had been fashioned to look like a cross, while in the other hand he clutched a large broad sword. Hiccup watched as the stranger took a step forward and swung his sword at the librarians who scurried away. But his vision was fading now, even as he fought for consciousness he watched as the stranger turned and looked at him. as he blacked out he heard Rowena speak. "faith…..what are you doing here?"_

_._

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CHAPTER 11

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Slowly Hiccup felt feeling return to his body. After a moment he became aware of people speaking. "so he's the one huh? The new dragon night high priest?" after a moment Rowena's voice responded. "yes. He'll be the new priest if he passes these tests." "that seems to be a big if." "really? Doubting your own powers?" "no. the fact that's he's already awake is proof enough." Sitting up Hiccup opened his eyes and looked around. The librarians were gone. Now he sat on the ground, his clothes magically mended. In front of him the strange figure from before was leaning over him. "rest easy warrior, the minions of ignorance are gone." Hiccup's hands instantly went to his leg; where he had been stabbed. "you're wounds have been healed. But we not the time to examine you further. Come we must leave before ignorance sends more minions." Staggering to his feet hiccup slowly fell into line behind the stranger who guided them through the large maze of shelves and dusty tomes as though he had lived there his whole life. As they walked hiccup spoke. "who are you?" the stranger shook his helmeted head. "my mortal named died many lifetimes ago. Now I'm only called faith." Behind hiccup Rowena spoke. "just as there are curse lords there are virtuous lords. Being that represent the gifts of humanity. Faith is the virtue lord to ignorance." hiccup nodded.

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"ok. I think I understand." In front of him faith spoke. "few humans have ever seen me. And those who have often are in awe. It is nice to be able to talk to someone without them thinking I'm giving them a mission from on high. Tell me hiccup do you have faith?" hiccup stopped for a fraction of a step. "I'm….. I have faith in my task and that what I'm doing is the right thing." Faith nodded. "as you should. But know this. Faith just like anything else can be twisted and made monstrous. It must always be kept in check." Behind them hiccup heard Rowena scoff. "it's drivel. The ramblings of senile old fools trying to justify a lifetime consumed with the rape, murder and torture of their follow humans." Faith stopped and turned to Rowena. "those men don't have faith not true faith. Faith is not demonstrated by acting in its name or my reciting a list of supposedly holy names. Faith is demonstrated through acceptance. Complete and whole hearted acceptance of the maker's promise of a better world. That is what true faith is." Silence fell between them; for a moment before faith turned and they continued walking. "Hiccup, faith can raise people up from the darkest pits. It can also condemn them to those same pits. But this is neither the time nor the place. Look, up a head."

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Tilting his head slightly hiccup watched as they came to a large lake. On either side of the lake bookshelves created a kind of shoreline. "the attenuator for water is in the middle of this lake. I can help you reach it, but past that and I can offer no more assistance." Hiccup nodded and watched as faith unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the ground. Kneeling behind the sword hiccup watched as faith brought his hands together and bowed his head. A moment later he began speaking in a hushed tone and in a tongue that hiccup didn't understand. A moment later however hiccup had to grab one of the shelves as the ground shook. Ripples began to spread across the surface of the water, even as he watched the ripples became stronger and stronger until they were no longer ripples but waves. Then all at once faith stood up. Hiccup watched amazed as the water in the lake became perfectly smooth for a fraction of a second. Then all at once the water fountained upwards in a massive geyser of water in the middle of the lake. But even as hiccup watched stunned the geyser began to split apart, as before his very eyes hiccup watched the lake part, exposing a path of submerged bookcases for them to walk on. Turning to them faith spoke. "this is where I leave you. Ignorance is a powerful enemy, but fo the first time in a long time he might have met his match in you." Hiccup nodded. "thank you….i'm sorry but what is your mortal name?"

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Faith smiled. "if you truly wish to know of my time on the mortal plain you may look up my adventures, I wrote them all down. I believe humans call the story…..The divine comedy. As for my human name….it is….Dante… Dante Alighieri." Hiccup smiled. "thank you Dante." Dante nodded. "now go hiccup." And with that Dante simply faded away until hiccup and Rowena were left alone. Stepping forward hiccup hesitantly tested his weight on one of the bookcases that made up the path in front of them. Once he was sure it was secure, he began forward. For the most part he and Rowena walked in silence. As it was hiccup didn't think he would say much. He was too busy looking at the walls of water that towered on either side of him. Every now and then a hazy shadow on the other side of the water would catch his attention; as though some great beast was just on the other side of the water. But soon enough hiccup felt his foot connect with 'land'. Looking up hiccup felt his heart rate peak slightly as above him another attenuator towered over him. Behind him Rowena spoke. "the attenuator of water. Know this hiccup this one is different. This one will require you to make a choice. Water can both be constructive and destructive. So you will have to choose. Will you use the water to heal? Or will you use it to destroy? The choice is yours to make."

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Hiccup nodded and stepped forward onto a large pedestal in front of the attenuator. At once water rushed up surrounding the pedestal. Hiccup watched as again the water fountained upwards. But this time when the water split each part was different. To hiccup's right the water churned and bubbled, in an angry frenzy; as though whipped about by some furious storm. To hiccup's left the water bubbled, and swirled in a less violent manner. As though the water of a hot spring. Behind him Rowena spoke. "Choose hiccup." Hiccup nodded and stepped forward. Reaching his hand out hiccup felt his fingers connect with the slowly bubbling and swirling water. Almost at once the water reacted. Drenching hiccup's arm and wrapping itself around his limb as though it were alive. In fear hiccup tried to pull his arm away but found it was caught by the water's grip. Fearful hiccup watched as the water continued to bubble. However unlike before now the bubbles did not bubble upward to the surface but instead against his skin. Then all at once the water dropped back down to the ground, releasing his arm and slipping back into the lake.

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Behind him Rowena spoke. "the touch of water is a powerful healing technique that will save most from death. But know this; it will come with a price. Each time you heal someone you'll become weaker for a time. Use it wisely. But come now. A new path is open to us; and we have little time to waste." Turning hiccup found that indeed the water had seeped away and now a new path lay out in front of them. Falling in line behind Rowena hiccup continued on the path. They had been walking for a few hours when hiccup noticed something. The dust on the books seemed to be getting thicker. Indeed when he reached down to touch the dust it had the same feeling of dirt. "The attenuator of earth is next. It's by far the simplest one. No choice to make, no fancy little test to get to it. Touch it and receive it's gift." Stepped out of the large passage hiccup stood for a moment looking around him. They were standing on a hillside. Turning around hiccup gazed out over the maze of bookshelves they had come across. Far off in the distance he could just make out a beam of light coming in from the hole they had punched through the roof of the large cavernous world. Turning back around hiccup slowly began to make his way up the hill to the top where another attenuator stood.

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Reaching forward hiccup felt his fingers graze the cold stone surface of the ancient artifact. Almost at once hiccup felt the earth under him shift. Looking down he watched as the dirt he was standing on began to move on it's own. This time hiccup watched fascinated as the dirt began to crawl up his legs forming a kind of second skin. "Earth is tough, unyielding. It's perfect for creating armor. But come we have 2 more attenuators to find." Walking through the dusty passages hiccup looked up. In front of them a large structure seemed to look out from the shadows. In front of him Rowena spoke. "Ignorance's fortress. Only a fool would attack it head on. Lucky for us we're not attacking." Hiccup nodded and watched as they emerged into another large clearing. In front of them 2 passages, stood waiting. Rowena turned to him. "now hiccup you must choose. The final 2 elements cannot be learned by the same person. You must choose which to learn. The passage on the right will take you to the attenuator of lightning. And the passage on the left will take you to the attenuator of wood. But know this. This choice is more important than any one you have made before now."

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"Lightning is force. Pure force, it destroys anything it touches, and anything I can't destroy it damages beyond repair." Hiccup nodded. He'd seen how dangerous lightening strikes could be after a large storm. How it could fuse sand into glass and split massive trees in half like they were twigs. "wood is an artist's friend. It is the main building block of your human world. Even the tiniest root can make a great wall crumble to dust with time. And now you must choose. Wood, or lightning?"

* * *

AN: OK FOLKS. I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO GET OUT.

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I GET SIDE TRACKED WITH OTHER STORIES. AND I JUST LOOSE TRACK OF THIS ONE. SORRY.

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HOPEFULLY EVERYONE IS STILL ENJOYING THE STORY.

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SO WHAT WILL HICCUP LEARN? LIGHTNING OR WOOD?

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THE VOTING WILL GO UNTIL NEXT WEEK. AND THEN I PROMISE I'LL START WRITING THE CHAPTER.

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IF YOU REALLY WANNA THANK SOMEONE THANK 'DRAGONRIDER453' HE WROTE ME EVERY DAY FOR THE PAST 3 MONTHS ASKIN ABOUT THIS STORY. SO IT'S BECAUSE OF HIM THAT I STARTED WRITING IN THIS AGAIN.

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SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.


	12. WOOD AND DISCOVERIES

"_Lightning is force. Pure force, it destroys anything it touches, and anything I can't destroy it damages beyond repair." Hiccup nodded. He'd seen how dangerous lightening strikes could be after a large storm. How it could fuse sand into glass and split massive trees in half like they were twigs. "wood is an artist's friend. It is the main building block of your human world. Even the tiniest root can make a great wall crumble to dust with time. And now you must choose. Wood, or lightning?"_

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CHAPTER 12

ASTRID'S POV

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Astrid sighed as she walked through the forest. High above her the sun was beginning to wane in the sky. Sighing again Astrid angrily pushed her way through the bushes and ferns that blocked her path. She'd been out here for hours searching. Searching for hiccup whom she'd seen leaving the village earlier that day. She'd watched him that day during training. He'd seemed sluggish, as though he was nursing an injury. She could easily see the tenseness of his muscles as he worked through the pain. And now she was out here for god knows what reason looking for him. sighing again Astrid kicked another bush out of the way and stepped into a large clearing. The sound of water hit her ears as she looked around. On the far side of the clearing she could make out a large cave, and not far from her current position she could see a small lake. Taking another step forward Astrid staggered slightly as her foot went down further than she had expected it to. Catching her balance, Astrid felt her blood run cold. She'd stepped into a massive 7 toed dragon track.

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Ducking back Astrid crouched down and surveyed the clearing. As far as she could tell there was no dragon in the clearing on in the cave. Slowly, Astrid crept back out from under her cover and moved back into the clearing. Kneeling down Astrid looked closely at the tracks. The tracks were deep meaning the dragon was not small. And judging by the size of them the dragon was very long. Moving through the clearing Astrid followed the track until they began to diverge. Sets of tracks went to the cave, others went towards the lake, and still others trailed along the perimeter of the clearing. Astrid had been about to look in the cave when something caught her eye. Along the mouth of the cave many of the rocks showed signs of grinding, indicating the dragon regularly rubbed against them. Now it was not uncommon to find dragon scales around. Many travels collected them and the sold them when they arrived at a town. Kneeling down Astrid felt her heart rate spike. She'd seen all kinds of scales, blues, reds, greens, and even a pink one once. Her hands trembled as she reached out and touched the smooth surface of the jet black scale in front of her. Only 1 dragon supposedly had black scales.

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HICCUP'S POV

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Hiccup looked at the pathways in front of him. after a moment Rowena spoke. "no matter which you choose I cannot follow." Hiccup's head snapped up. "what?" Rowena smiled. "I chose to focus on the main elements. I never bothered to learn lightning or wood. And my chance to make this choice has long since past. But now hiccup choose, lightning or wood?" taking a deep breath hiccup stepped forward and into the passage for wood. Even as he walked slowly down the path he could hear the entrance to the passage sealing itself behind him. the passage was well lit and hiccup soon found himself emerging onto a large hillside. Looking around hiccup couldn't help but be amazed. The hillside was covered in grass. Far off in the distance he could see a large meadow with flowers blooming. Stepping forward hiccup made his way down the hillside and headed towards a large tree that stuck up from the ground. He had just come to the other side of the tree when a voice spoke. "hello." Looking around hiccup raised an eyebrow.

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"Hello?" after a moment the voice returned. "Look up buddy." Looking up hiccup saw a man only a few years older than him looking down at him from among the tree's branches. A moment later hiccup stepped aside as the man dropped down to the ground and straightened up. As he did so hiccup gave the man a once over. He was taller than hiccup was, with deep mahogany colored hair, his arms and legs were long almost unnaturally so, his eyes were a light silver color. After the man dusted off his shirt he smiled and offered his hand to hiccup who reached out to shake it, only to have his own hands pass right through the man's.

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the man sighed. "sorry I keep forgetting about that. Don't take it personally; I can't even scratch any itches I get." Hiccup nodded unsure of how to respond. After a moment the man spoke. "so here's the point where I'm supposed to say something deep and meaningful about why you chose to learn wood. Thing is I'm not a deep and meaningful guy. If anything I'm rather bold, and foolhardy. So let's just jump right into things shall we? You've chosen to learn wood magic." Hiccup nodded. "Well wood isn't like any other element. The other elements you command. You call it forth and it comes. Wood is not like this. Wood will grow when it wants to. It's the only LIVING element. And as such will take commands from no one. Understand?" hiccup shook his head.

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"If I can't command wood how can I use it?" the man smiled. "you can't command wood. But you can influence it. Wood is alive. It feels, it thinks, you must ALLOW the wood to grow the way it wants to. But while it's growing you must influence it to grow in a way that it wants to AND in a way that helps you. For instance draw your sword." Hiccup hesitated for a moment but pulled out his sword as instructed. Even as the sword was leaving the sheath the man stuck out his hand in front of him. a heartbeat later hiccup felt the ground beneath his feet move. Before he could even react a large tree root exploded out from under the ground and wrapped itself around his legs. Striking at the root with his sword hiccup felt his eyes widen as his metal sword did nothing to damage the wooden rooth which had long since bound his legs and was now growing around his waist pinning his hips in place and limiting his movement.

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As hiccup drew back his sword again; he found he could no longer move his arm as a root wounds its way around him and pinned him to the ground completely taking away his ability to move. From his spot on the ground hiccup watched as the man smiled and snapped his fingers. At once the roots released their grip on him and burrowed back under ground. Standing up hiccup couldn't help but be a bit more suspicious of the ground beneath his feet. After a moment the man chuckled. "don't worry. Wood only becomes animated when it's called forth. Right now the roots that just attacked you are dormant under the ground. No more alive than a rock." Hiccup nodded but still felt suspicious. "so would can be used for restraint?" the man chuckled again.

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"wood can be used for any number of tasks. It can be a restraint, also a weapon, and even a shield when used correctly. For example, summon the wind." Hiccup frowned. "what?" the man repeated himself. "summon the wind. I want to show you another use of wood." Hiccup nodded and put his arms out. "WIND!" it was instant the gale force wind that blasted from behind hiccup who barely felt it, but who watched as the man staggered trying to keep upright. Even as he stood their with ease hiccup watched as the man was forced to take several steps backwards or risk being pushed over by the force of the wind. As the man regained his footing, hiccup watched as he brought his hand down to the ground. When he stood up hiccup watched amazed as a large piece of wood, about the size of a tree trunk followed him, providing a blast shield from the gale winds.

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As the wind died down hiccup watched as the wooden shield descended back into the ground; leaving the man smiling at him. "You see? Wood is the most versatile element you can learn. It's also the most difficult. Now come I'll show you some basics." Hiccup watched as the man crouched down on the ground and motioned for him to do the same. As hiccup followed the man's example the man spoke. "You have to feel it. To dirt, the rocks, the roots lying deep underground waiting to be animated and called into use. Put your hand here." Hiccup nodded and moved so he could touch the spot of earth the man had indicated. "Right here. Can you feel it? The root that's growing here." Hiccup sadly shook his head. "No. I can't." the man smiled. "Don't feel discouraged, I did not expect you to at first. In fact I would have been amazed if you could."

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"it's here, deep under the ground. It's big, almost as big around as your arm; and just as powerful and full of potential. It's here, waiting to be animated and used. Now here is the secret; you can't control the wood itself." Hiccup stared at the man. "but you were controlling the wood before, how can you manipulate the wood without manipulating wood?" the man smiled. "what makes wood grow?" hiccup shrugged. "light, earth, water…" his voice trailed off as the man smiled at him. "exactly. Water, and earth. Both elements are ones you learned before right?" hiccup nodded. "yes, but I choose healing as my water power, and earth can only create shields. How can I Use them to grow the wood?" this time the man laughed out loud. "and that there is ignorance's greatest feat. His crowning achievement." Hiccup shook his head.

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"What?" again the man laughed. "You don't see it? He's tricked you; he's tricked everyone into thinking that they have to chose ONE way to manipulate an element. Young boy it's manipulation. You can control the element in ANY way you want. All the world comes in pairs, just as water can heal the same properties make it a weapon, just as earth con protect the same properties can make it into a full body restraint. This is ignorance's greatest trick because he's fooled everyone into thinking that elements can only be used 1 way. When in fact they can be used any way the user wants them now come I have a simple exercise for you to do. Put your hand back down to the ground and close your eyes." Hiccup did as he was told.

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"now, I want you to imagine a puddle of water. Can you do that?" hiccup nodded. "now take the puddle and burry it in the ground, but don't let the puddle be absorbed by the earth. Understand?" again hiccup nodded. "now I want you to imagine the root under the ground. Put the puddle just out of the root's reach. Put it just close enough to the root to temp it, but not close enough so as to allow it to drink it. Now, can you feel the root's thirst? It's want for the water in the puddle?" hiccup opened his eyes. "how can a root be thirsty?" the glared at him. "just do it." Hiccup sighed and closed his eyes again. And began to mentally do as the man had told him to. "now can you feel the thirst for the puddle?" hiccup nodded. "now I want you to move the puddle again, but now don't move the whole thing. Only move a small bit of the puddle. Move it so the root can drink from only the closest part of the puddle."

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Hiccup nodded. "now, as the root is drinking I want you to manipulate the puddle, stretch it out, so that the root has to move and grow to drink it all. Are you doing it?" again hiccup nodded. "now, manipulate the puddle upwards, stretching it so it's moving towards the surface. Have you done it?" hiccup nodded. "yes." "good. Now open your eyes." hiccup did as he was told but had to squint or he'd be blinded by the light that met his eyes. Looking at the man hiccup shook his head. "what? Why did you have me stop?" the man nodded towards hiccup's hand. "look under your hand?" hiccup frowned as he removed his hand from the earth but felt his eyes widen as the sight of new plant stalk growing up from the soil met his eyes. next to him the man spoke. "you see. You can do it. But you've only just begun; you were able to manipulate the root under the ground, and easy thing to do. Now you have to will it out of the ground and keep it from dying, while at the same time willing it to grow and move. This is not nearly as easy."

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ASTRID'S POV

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Once she'd been sure there was absolutely no dragon in the clearing she'd started exploring the cave she'd found. It had only taken a little while but she'd found fresh footprints in the cave, and the foot was wearing a boot. Kneeling down Astrid studied the print and committed it to memory so she could recall it in the future. As she ventured farther into the cave she came across bones, mostly small but some large ones, but none to indicate human prey. As she moved still deeper into the cave she couldn't help but wonder. How had this dragon gotten so close to the village without anyone noticing?

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HICCUP'S POV

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Hiccup growled as for the umpteenth time his spell failed. He was close, so close he could feel it. He could get the root to grow up to the surface of the ground. But when he tried to get it to grow up and out of the ground the root would grow for a few feet before it would begin to sag and eventually go completely limp and sag against the ground. Growling again in frustration hiccup turned to his 'mentor' who had been watching him this whole time. "What am I doing wrong? I'm doing everything you're telling me. I'm manipulating the puddle and making sure the earth doesn't absorb it." After a moment his mentor smiled. "You need to remember just because the root drank the water doesn't mean the water is gone. You need to keep the water in the root ridged while at the same time keep manipulating the water to control where and how it grows. Next time you create the puddle in your mind don't let it disappear as the root consumes it."

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Hiccup nodded and began the exercise again. Creating the puddle and tempting the root with it until the root began to move under the ground. This time though as he watched the root break the surface hiccup did as his mentor had instructed him and to his amazement watched as the root grew dozens of feet upwards; only stopping when hiccup stopped in shock. Behind him the man spoke. "You see. You can do it." Hiccup looked to the man. "Before….." the man cocked his head. "yes?" hiccup took a breath and continued. "Before you said wood could be used as a weapon. How?" the man smiled at him for a minute before turning his gaze out to the hillside. For a moment nothing happened, then all at once roots exploded from under the ground. As they twisted through the air hiccup watched as the roots turned and began to grow directly for a large boulder that sat in the field next to the hillside they stood on. As the roots hit the rock they tore through it with ease, obliterating the rock and leaving only a cloud of dust as the only evidence. "roots can be used for many kinds of attacks. They can bind a person's foot to the ground. They can even drag fully grown people underground. They can be used and spears, they can even be used as blades. But know this. This is not what wood is meant to be used for. To make wood do harm will take much more practice than you have time for now. For now you must go. Ignorance awaits you hiccup. And it is not smart to keep him waiting."

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Hiccup nodded and turned to leave. As he walked away the man continued to speak. "wood is alive hiccup. It feels; just like you and me. Remember this. AND REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR FOCUS!" hiccup smiled as he stepped back into the bookshelf maze. Walking down the disserted corridor hiccup walked until he came to a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood Rowena waiting for him; just as she said she would be. And behind her; hiccup felt his breath catch. Behind Rowena stood ignorance's fortress. Massive stone walls towered over him, and gave him a sense of insignificance. As he neared Rowena she spoke. "are you ready for this hiccup? Once you enter this fortress you can't leave. Are you ready to face ignorance?"hiccup cocked his head. "Rowena? what about fire?" Rowena looked at him. "what do you mean?" hiccup shurgged. "well it said i'd learn about the the elements of my world. what about fire?" Rowena smiled. "fire is a human's anchor element. no one, not even the most powerful sorcerers can manipulate their anchor element. if they could they would no longer be human. are you ready?"

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hiccup took a deep breath and nodded. Rowena smiled and turned, raising her arms out in front of her. Hiccup watched fascinated as the stone wall of the fortress shook and began to rebuild itself this time with a large archway for them to walk through. Taking another breath hiccup stepped forward.

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TOOTHLESS'S POV

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Something was changing. She wasn't sure what, but something was changing. She could feel it. Some subtle shift in the air. Something was changing, even as she lay there dying she knew it. And whatever it was, was very powerful. That much she had no doubt about.

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 12 IS UP AND DONE. SORRY IT'S A WEEK LATE. HAD A BIT OF COMPUTER TROUBLE.

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SO THE FINAL TALLY FOR THE VOTES ARE AS FOLLOWS.

WOOD = 27

LIGHTNING = 11

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GOT A LOT OF VOTE FROM MESSAGES. BUT ALSO GOT A LOT FROM REVIEWS. **I LIKE IT**

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SO ANYONE HAVE ANY GUESSES ON HOW HICCUP WILL BEAT IGNORANCE? AND NOW ASTRID HAS FOUND TOOTHLESS'S CLEARING. WHAT WILL SHE DO? AND WHAT EXACTLY IS TOOTHLESS SENSING?

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READ THE NEXT CHAPTER TO FIND OUT.

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ALSO THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE A FEW REFERENCES TO THE ELDER SCROLL SERIES. SO JUST A HEADS UP TO YOU ALL.

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HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN REAL SOON.


	13. the tower and ignorance

_Something was changing. She wasn't sure what, but something was changing. She could feel it. Some subtle shift in the air. Something was changing, even as she lay there dying she knew it. And whatever it was, was very powerful. That much she had no doubt about. _

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CHAPTER 13

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Hiccup couldn't help but stare slightly stunned at what was in front of him. he knew they were stepping into a castle and castles usually housed cities. But he had not expected a city of this size. The city was huge! All around him Hiccup looked in amazement as they walked past merchants, town criers, civilians and guardsmen all going about their own business as though they were not even there. As they walked Rowena spoke. "you seem surprised Hiccup. You should not be. By now you should come to expect the unexpected in the over world." Hiccup nodded. "I do. But not this." Rowena smiled. "this is Ignorantia. It is latin for ignorance, and it is only fitting that the lord ignorance makes his home here. After all it was ignorance which brought about the cities' destruction."

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Hiccup looked at her. "what do you mean?" Rowena shrugged. "many years ago a prophesy was made. One about a prisoner who would slay the great demon lord who wished to conquer the world. Sadly the people of this city chose to ignore it. They ignored the signs and the warnings. So when the demon king arrived they had no way to defend themselves. But rather than be destroyed ignorance took their souls to be his own. And now they are trapped here, for all eternity. Hiccup shrugged. "Doesn't seem so bad." Rowena chuckled. "to many it doesn't but can you imagine doing the exact same thing over and over, day in and day out for all eternity." Hiccup cocked his head. "What do you mean?"

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Rowena paused as they came to a large door which swung open for them. As they continued they found themselves in a large garden district. "This town had an arena, people would come from all over to bet, and to risk their lives to compete. Now those that lost on the day of their destruction are doomed to always loose. While those who won will always win. Those that fight do so in the same way every day. And those who dye do so knowing that the next day will bring the same death, over and over and over again. You see young Hiccup it is hope that makes ignorance so powerful here. The souls here hope to be free, but ignorance will never release them they are trapped forever, they will only be free when the end comes."

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Coming to a stop Hiccup craned his neck skyward to look at the large tower in front of them. Rowena turned to him. atop this tower sits ignorance lording over his people. Do not underestimate him. It is only because of him that humans learned magic in the first place. Any spell you know he has had since creation to learn and master. Do not try to out think him. you will lose." Hiccup nodded. "Then what should I do?" Rowena smiled. "Ignorance can come from many things boredom, isolation, education but the most common cause of ignorance is patterns. Patterns that have repeated so many times people do not notice them anymore. Such as when a person walks, or breaths. It is in these patterns that ignorance has it's weakness. Now go. I'll wait for you here."

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Hiccup nodded and stepped forward. At once the large double doors in front of him opened. Looking back at Rowena who only nodded, Hiccup stepped forward and into the tower only to have the doors swing shut behind him condemning him to pitch darkness. Only the sound of his breathing met his ears. As he looked around for some source of light Hiccup tried to pierce the haze of darkness that enveloped him. Then slowly from high above him light began to appear. Beams of light seem to cut through the stone of the tower creating shafts of illumination that revealed a maze such as Hiccup would never had expected in his wildest dreams.

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Books and bookshelves hovered in mid air, while others moved of their own will. Each on seeming to have its own predetermined path to follow. It was a maze, but not just any maze a vertical maze. Stepping forward Hiccup watched as a large bound tome as large as he was soared down from the air and landed in front of him opening as it landed. A moment later ink began to appear on it's blank pages. _'Blessed are those who can climb through chaos.'_As Hiccup finished reading the worlds they vanished, only to have the book fall to the ground creating a kind of podium. Looking at the book cautiously Hiccup did the only thing that came to mind. Which was to step up and on to the book.

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The effect was instant, the book took flight soaring upwards and into the air. But it only moved a short way before coming to a stop next to a floating shelf. Hesitantly Hiccup tested the shelf to see if it was secure before stepping off the book and onto the shelf. No sooner had his foot left the book then it soared up and away. Looking around Hiccup tried to figure out what to do. High above him at the top of the tower he could see a kind of green light, a signal perhaps of where he needed to go. The shelf was on its side and so created a small walkway for him to move across. Coming to edge of the shelf, Hiccup watched as a book a few feet away slowly rose up and down as though caught in a kind of draft. Eyeing the book Hiccup felt his stomach churn. Could he jump to the book. What would happen if he fell? Summoning up his courage Hiccup said a fast prayer before going back to the other end of the shelf and starting to run.

Leaping off the shelf Hiccup felt himself sail through open air and for a moment he feared he would miss his target and sail clean over it. But his aim was true and it was with joy in his chest that he felt his feet touch the pages of the book. A moment later the book continued its way and rose into the air. Coming to stop next to another shelf this one right side up creating a ladder. Clambering up the shelves Hiccup pulled himself up and onto the top of the shelf. Scanning the book above him Hiccup found one that suited his need to get higher and leapt to it.

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A pattern evolved. He would ride a book, up come to stop at a shelf, traverse the shelf and then find another book to take him still higher. As he traveled he thought, 'ignorance could have made a harder maze.'

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ASTRID'S POV

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Astrid sighed as she settled into a spot hidden by reeds. She would wait, wait for the dragon to return, wait till it had gone to sleep. Then she would sneak up to it, kill it, and bring it's body back to the village. Maybe then she would get the respect she deserved. And maybe the she'd show Hiccup once and for all who was the best dragon hunter.

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HICCUP'S POV

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Looking around him Hiccup couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. He'd been at this for hours. Yet no matter how many shelves he climbed or how many books he rode he didn't seem to be getting any closer to the top of the tower. Stepping forward Hiccup had been about to leap to another book when a large swarm of tomes shot past him and knocked him off balance. As he leaned perilously close to the edge his heart just about leapt out of his chest. He could barely make out the spot where he had started so very far below. Righting himself Hiccup clutched the spot of chest were his heart was. Calm, I need to calm down. Slow down, when you go fast you make mistakes. Moving carefully along the bookshelf/ramp Hiccup made it to the other end before looking around. As far as he could see there was no more books for him to ride, and no other bookcases seemed to go upwards. Craning his neck upwards Hiccup looked up at the top of the tower which still seemed to be miles away.

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Sighing Hiccup tried to think of a way for him to get to the top of the tower. But no matter how long he though nothing came to mind. Sighing Hiccup closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He was nervous almost to the point of shaking. He needed to calm down, to focus on his task and not worry about things he couldn't control. Opening his eyes Hiccup again scanned the area for a book, or a bookshelf near him that could help him go higher or give him a clue as to how to proceed. As his eyes looked over the walls he found a large carving of a book etched into the wall. But unlike a few other book carvings he had seen this one was open, and it appeared to have writing in it. Squinting at the far off writing Hiccup mental wished the statue could be just a little bit closer. He could see many lines of writing within the stone book's open pages, but could only make out the first few lines.

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'_nothing is as it seems. worlds can exist within pages.' _Rolling his eyes Hiccup sighed. It was getting to be very hard to take anything this world said seriously, when only a few minutes later something would tell him to distrust what he had just been told. Looking back up towards the top of the tower Hiccup focused, taking in every detai he could see, trying to find a way to the top. He had just been about to look down however when the bookcase he was on began to shake and tremble. Arms moving franticly Hiccup did his best to keep his balance, and stay on top of the shelf as it shook violently as though cause in some massive wind storm. As the shaking stopped however Hiccup watched as a dozen or so books flew off the shelves and fluttered through the air towards him, stopping in front of him and opening up. A moment later the air was filled with voices.

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"ah a mortal. Such an annoying creature, always touching everything. Always wanting to open us, and 'read' us." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. The way the book said read, it almost sounded like he was implying something completely different. Another book spoke, this one in a cool women's voice. "oh I don't know Moby, I find being read to be a rather…..thrilling adventure. Warm fleshy hands caressing my smooth and luscious pages, the mortal's mouth ceaselessly moving, learning my every though, secret and desire. I'm all a flutter just thinking about it." Opening his mouth Hiccup had been about to speak when yet another book cut him off. "will you 2 stop bickering? We have a guest and a duty to perform! Now LET'S GO before we're late!" Hiccup watched as the books fluttered away leaving him standing alone on the shelf.

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But as the book's flew away the shelf he was on began to shake again. This time however Hiccup watched as a large stone statue of a book began to rise straight out of the wooden shelf. As the shelf came to a stop Hiccup watched fascinated as the stone book, slowly rotated so it was no longer sticking straight up, but laying on its spine it's paper thin stone pages open for him to read. Moving over to the stone book, Hiccup peered down at the stone pages, and the words carved into them. _'a world in each book,'_ the phrase repeated over and over and over again on every stone page. Reaching down Hiccup gripped one of the pages and turned it with surprising ease. However what he found was not what he had expected. He had expected another page with more words. What he had not expected was to turn the page and find a set of stairs leading down 'through' the book.

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Looking around Hiccup did one last double take to ensure there was nowhere else for him to go before stepping up and down 'into' the book. As he moved further down the stairs Hiccup found a series of torches sitting in brackets providing light for him to see and as moved down the stairs with caution. Stepping off the stairs Hiccup looked around him at the chamber he had walked into. Along the walls MASSIVE bookshelves towered above him covering every inch of the walls. On the far side of the chamber a large fireplace crackled with life as flames licked at the logs inside. And in front of the fire place… Hiccup felt his breath catch in his chest. In front of the fire place stood a figure. Not as tall as rage but still taller than Hiccup was. The figures arm was bent in front of him, an open book held in the figures hand. As Hiccup stepped forward the figure closed the book, before turning and tossing the book into the fireplace behind it. As the figure turned back around it spoke.

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"well, well, well. Hiccup. I was beginning to think you might not make it." Hiccup didn't respond but instead pulled his sword from its sheath and held it across his body in a defensive stance. Ignorance shook it's head. "put that blade away Hiccup. I'm not rage, or intolerance. I use my mind to fight not my body." sheathing his blade Hiccup spoke. "Then how will I face you?" in response ignorance raised his arms; at once the bookshelves shook and a moment later the books shot off the shelves and fluttered into the air like so many birds. "we'll have a game of magic. We'll each fight using only our magic. But we ourselves will not be allowed to move from where we stand now. No blades, just our knowledge of magic. Now ready yourself Hiccup."

* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 13 IS UP AND DONE.

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THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME. I KNOW I UPDATE KIND OF SLOW. BUT I GET SIDE TRACKED, WITH LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. PLUS VIDEO GAMES.

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AND A **HUGE** THANK YOU TO 'DARK-ASSASSIN' FOR MESSAGING ME AND HELPING ME WITH IDEAS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING ME GET UP OFF MY BUTT AND WRITE.

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WELL FOLKS I HAVE A BIT OF BAD NEWS. SKYRIM COMES OUT ON FRIDAY (11TH). AND THAT MEANS I WON'T BE LEAVING MY 360 FOR A WHILE. BUT I PROMISE I'LL TRY TO DO SOME WRITING. I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I'LL BE DOING.

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HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN SOON.


	14. broken rules and boons

"_well, well, well. Hiccup. I was beginning to think you might not make it." Hiccup didn't respond but instead pulled his sword from its sheath and held it across his body in a defensive stance. Ignorance shook it's head. "put that blade away Hiccup. I'm not rage, or intolerance. I use my mind to fight not my body." sheathing his blade Hiccup spoke. "Then how will I face you?" in response Ignorance raised his arms; at once the bookshelves shook and a moment later the books shot off the shelves and fluttered into the air like so many birds. "we'll have a game of magic. We'll each fight using only our magic. But we ourselves will not be allowed to move from where we stand now. No blades, just our knowledge of magic. Now ready yourself Hiccup."_

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CHAPTER 14

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Hiccup watched as Ignorance readied himself for battle. Sheathing his own blade Hiccup watched as Ignorance slowly raised one of his arms into the air. "know this Hiccup. Rules are not set in stone. Some can be bent others can be completely broken. It is only an illusion that they are absolute." But before Hiccup could respond Ignorance moved. Large chunks of stone bricks tore themselves up from the ground and lobbed themselves at Hiccup who was able to dodge most of them, while using his shield to deflect the last few chunks. Lowering his shield Hiccup threw his arms out, "WIND!" instantly the winds came making Hiccup stagger slightly as they lashed past him.

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In response Hiccup felt his eyes widen as a massive sheer wall of earth erupted up from the ground blocking his attack. From behind the wall Ignorance spoke. "did you forget who you're battling boy! I'm Ignorance! I mastered magic before anyone else!" a moment later the wall of earth began to move heading directly towards Hiccup. "earth!" at once large chunks of rock began piling up around him creating a crude kind of armor. Hiccup only had enough time to raise his shield up before the brick wall struck him shaking every bone in his body. but his fast thinking had worked. Instead of him being broken on; his stone armor had broken. As for his shield it still looked as though it had just come out of the forge.

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Taking a step back Hiccup ducked low so he was slinking close to the ground. Across from his he could see Ignorance making gestures with his hands. A moment later however Hiccup was forced to bring his shield up as a massive pillar of fire shot from Ignorance's hands and lashed out at him as though it was a monstrous arm. Hiccup staggered as the flames crashed against his shield. The force behind the flames was incredible even as he crouched there shield raised it was managing to push him backwards with its force. Even as the flames pushed against him he could feel his shield beginning to heat up almost to the point of being unbearable. but now the flames were retracting like some large snake that had struck and was now waiting for its poison to take effect. Hiccup watched slightly amazed as the pillar of fire twisted and moved before vanishing into a cloud of smoke. "WHAT'S THE MATTER BOY? AFRAID? YOUR SHOULD BE!" Hiccup gnashed his teeth together. He was tired of being on the defensive, now it was his turn to attack.

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Standing up Hiccup planted his feet and spread his arms. At once he felt the ground beneith him begin to move and wraith as roots sprouted up from under the stone floor like so many angry serpents. Sending the roots forward Hiccup watched as Ignorance tried to burn the roots with another pillar of fire. And while the roots did ignite the burning roots were simply smothered by the roots that continued to grow over the flames and towards Ignorance. Sending the roots underground Hiccup prepared for his attack. All at once the root exploded upwards from under Ignorance. He thought he had won, he'd thought the battle was over. He was wrong. Even as the roots grew around Ignorance's legs and trapped his arms Hiccup could tell something was wrong. "nice try boy. But you forget something. You've only learned elemental magic. I on the other hand know all forms. FO-KRAH-DIIN!" Hiccup gasped as instantly the temperature in the chamber dropped so quickly that his breath began to steam in mid breath

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Hiccup watched stunned as the roots that had ensnared Ignorance began to freeze over and crumble under the cold. All Ignorance had to do was shift his weight and the roots shattered like glass falling to the ground dead. Slowly Hiccup began to feel the temperature return to what it had been before. How was he going to beat Ignorance? He was out matched with magic and …. "You said before some rules were meant to be broken. I now know what you meant." Ignorance cocked his head. "And what was that?" Hiccup smiled. "You said we could only use magic." Hiccup's smile turned into a half grin half smirk. Running forward Hiccup shouted as he charged at Ignorance. "I'm breaking the rule!" in response Hiccup watched as Ignorance called up another wall of earth and hurled it at him. Using his shield Hiccup punched a hole through the wall and continued on his path.

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Nearing Ignorance Hiccup almost found himself impaled as a large root exploded up from the ground and lashed out at him like a whip. Dropping to his knees to slide under the root Hiccup hissed as he felt the tip of the tree root grazed his cheek slicing through the skin as easily as any blade. Brining his hand up to cheek Hiccup felt blood dripping from the gash. Yet strangely he felt no pain from the injury. Bringing his hand away from his cheek Hiccup had been about to stand up when he caught sight of his shield. The large gem in the center was glowing. '_it'll allow you to shrug off your pain and discomfort. But only for a time.' _Hut Hiccup had no more time to remember as the large root whip from before lashed out at him; forcing him to start running again. Dodging to the right Hiccup felt the side of the root graze his shield as he ran alongside it. Bringing his sword up Hiccup slashed through a series of offshoots that grew out of the main root and tried to wrap themselves around his arms and legs.

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Slicing through the roots Hiccup grinned. Ignorance was becoming desperate. Slicing through more offshoots Hiccup grinned, he was close. Drawing his sword back Hiccup cleared the last few feet and now found himself standing in front of ignorance. Bringing his sword down Hiccup stopped the blade mere inches from ignorance's head. "you lose ignorance." Ignorance nodded. "I have lost." Behind him Hiccup felt the ground shake slightly as the massive root began to move back underground. As Hiccup lowered his sword ignorance continued. "the path out is yours." With a simple gesture ignorance made the walls of the room fall away, and Hiccup was started to find himself back in the meadow he had been in for his wood training. Off in the distance he could see Rowena standing, and waiting for him. turning back to ignorance Hiccup watched as ignorance began to rifl through the pages of a nearby book. "ignorance is a blissful thing. As powerful as it is dangerous, and useful as it is crippling. And so for you Hiccup I offer you 3 boons to select from."

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"illusions are some of the most complex magics someone can encounter. They ensnare the mind and bewitch the senses. And so for your first boon I offer you this; immunity to all illusions. You will know they are there. But they will not affect you in anyway." Hiccup nodded and watched as ignorance closed the book he was holding. "Trickery is another way of fighting, using lies, and illusions has always been a useful way to combat an enemy. A person who can see through the lies and trickery is a great asset to anyone. But being able to see through them comes with a price. You will never be fooled by any form of a lie. Be it verbal, written or magical. You will always see the truth. But you will never know the source of the trickery. And that can be just as dangerous and not seeing the lies they have laid for you." Again Hiccup nodded. "and for your final boon I offer you this." Ignorance gestured to the world around them. "my domain has all the knowledge, that has; is; or will be, stored and waiting to be discovered. Each book another source of information just waiting to be unlocked and used. Come back anytime and peruse my tomes. However there is one rule. You may not look at book from after your time. No one should know their own future. But now Hiccup you must choose."

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* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 14 IS UP AND DONE.

WOW THIS WAS A SUPER LONG SET OF CHAPTERS.

I THINK THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A BIT MORE LIKE THE CHAPTER FOR FURY. EVERYTHING WILL BE IN 1 CHAPTER.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE KEEPING TRACK UP NEXT IS, MORTALITY. WHICH I THINK IS BEST SHOWED BY FEARS. OR WHAT WE AS HUMAN FEAR MOST.

REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WRITING THAT CHAPTER.

SO GO AHEAD AND CAST YOUR VOTE FOR WHICH BOOK Hiccup SHOULD CHOOSE.

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1. the ability to see through any and ALL illusions, magical, or otherwise.

2. the ability to spot any form of a lie, (illusion, verbal lie, written lie, see through disguises.)

3. the right to come back and look through any of the books in the library. (except those that are about the future.)

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE.

SEE YOU ALL AGAIN REAL SOON.


	15. fears and coffins

"_Illusions are some of the most complex magic's someone can encounter. They ensnare the mind and bewitch the senses. And so for your first boon I offer you this; immunity to all illusions. You will know they are there. But they will not affect you in anyway." Hiccup nodded and watched as ignorance closed the book he was holding. "Trickery is another way of fighting, using lies, and illusions has always been a useful way to combat an enemy. A person who can see through the lies and trickery is a great asset to anyone. But being able to see through them comes with a price. You will never be fooled by any form of a lie. Be it verbal, written or magical. You will always see the truth. But you will never know the source of the trickery. And that can be just as dangerous and not seeing the lies they have laid for you." Again Hiccup nodded. "And for your final boon I offer you this." Ignorance gestured to the world around them. "My domain has all the knowledge that has; is; or will be, stored and waiting to be discovered. Each book another source of information just waiting to be unlocked and used. Come back anytime and peruse my tomes. However there is one rule. You may not look at book from after your time. No one should know their own future. But now Hiccup you must choose."_

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CHAPTER 15

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Looking up at ignorance Hiccup spoke. "I was thrown into this unsure and unaware of what was happening to me. It would be nice to be able to avoid that in the future. I wish for the second boon. To see through the lies but not know their source." Illusion nodded and pointed at Hiccup's head. A moment later Hiccup felt his world spin as his knees hit the ground. "You have been granted this gift. But don't rely on it. Find their source, and stop it. Understand?" Hiccup nodded. "Good. Now go, my sister mortality waits for you." And with that Hiccup watched slightly amazed as ignorance seemed to explode into a storm of paper and books. Moving over to Rowena Hiccup watched as again as she transformed into a dragon. As Rowena crouched down for him to climb on she spoke. _"Hiccup look up." _Looking up Hiccup's eyes widened slightly several dragons were circling above them. _"Seems you've caught their attention_ _they're inspecting you. Seeing if maybe they want to offer you their forms. Their numbers will shrink until only a few remain after you've faced pride. After that one will land and offer itself to you. Then we'll go to the dragon forge and smelt your 2 souls together."_Hiccup nodded unsure of what to say. As they flew hiccup found himself looking around. There was so much to see. In 1 particular case they passed by a massive sailing ship, it's flag that of a skull and bones. As they flew past it Hiccup felt his eyes widen as the captain of the ship saluted them. But a moment later someone called to the captain. "JACK THE DUTCHMENM IS CLOSING IN FAST!" a moment later the captain responded. "THEN HOIST THE SALE MISTER GIBS AND MAKE READY THE GUNS!"

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And still they flew on. "_Listen Hiccup. Mortality is one of the most dangerous curse lords there is. Her knowledge of how the human mind works is unparalleled. Even ignorance doesn't know as much about the mind as she does. And she'll use it against you."_"What do you mean?" _"Mortality often chooses to challenge her enemies not in physical or magical combat, but by forcing her enemies to see their worst fears come to life. She enjoys watching her enemies cower in fear. You must be on edge, and always be aware of what is around you. Because I will not be there to assist you." _Hiccup's head snapped to Rowena. "Why not?" Rowena sighed. _"My fears are truly horrific. There are things that I fear that would drive a normal mind past the breaking point. If I were to enter mortalities realm with you, our fears would both be created. Only you may walk your own fears. We're here."_

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Looking up Hiccup found that they were nearing a large plain body of land. _"You'll have to jump. I can't land here or I'll be sucked into the realm too. Just remember, stay calm, and keep moving. Try not to panic. Acknowledge that you're afraid." _Hiccup nodded and dropped down from Rowena's back. The moment his feet touched the ground Hiccup staggered; as the dirt beneath his feet began to tremble and vibrate. The ground shook so violently that Hiccup was knocked off balance and dropped down to his knees holding onto the ground with his hands to keep from falling further. Even as the earth shook beneath him Hiccup looked around seeking out the source of the shaking. There was nothing around him; he was alone. Rowena had vanished leaving him stranded. Another violent shake and Hiccup felt his arms cave out from under him. As his chest hit the ground Hiccup felt the earth beneath him drop out from under him. Instantly gravity grabbed him and pulled him down.

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Hiccup coughed and gagged as he found himself falling through a long stone chute. But after a moment he found himself dumped into a large dimly lit chamber. Landing on the floor Hiccup coughed as the wind was knocked out of him. But a moment later a rattling sound behind him made him roll to the side as his sword which had fallen from his grip, came whizzing out of the chute and landed blade down and quivering where he had been moments before. Clambering to his feet Hiccup took a moment to brush the dust and debris from his clothes before looking around. If he had to guess he would say he was in a tomb. Large stone pillars stuck up from the grounding holding up the ceiling. Against the pillars Hiccup could make out symbols etched into the stone. Sheathing his sword Hiccup had been about to look around some more when a voice echoed from all around him. "**Abandon all hope those who enter mortalities domain. The first fear is instinctual but can be overcome with logic." **

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Hiccup opened his mouth to speak. But his voice died in his throat as the world around him was plunged into utter darkness. Not just any kind of darkness; but complete darkness. Hiccup felt himself begin to shake as he stood there. Normally his eyes would just adjust to darkness, but that wasn't happening. Instead the blackness seemed to be pressing in on him making his breathing increase while at the same time sending his heart into panic mode. The situation was bad; anything could be in the darkness, anything. And he would never be able to see it coming. Gripping his sword hilt Hiccup readied himself for a possible attack. And yet none came. He was alone, completely alone in this blackness. As he stood there Hiccup felt his breathing begin to relax. It was so quite. Not one sound other than his own breathing met his ears. Relaxing his stance slightly Hiccup closed his eyes on a hunch. He smiled slightly. There was no difference between having his open and having them closed.

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He began to laugh. Maybe it was because he suddenly was exhausted; maybe it was because he was going crazy. But something about being able to close his eyes and find that there was no difference to having them open; was funny to him at this moment. But his laughter died as the voice from before spoke. "**THE SECOND FEAR IS PRIMAL BUT CAN BE OVER COME WITH BRAVERY."** Rubbing his ears slightly Hiccup watched as the room returned to its original illumination. But his momentary joy was short lived as he felt the ground begin to shake again. Looking around the room for the source of the shaking Hiccup felt his eyes widen as a section of wall sunk into the floor reveling a doorway and a passage for him to follow. Stepping forward slightly Hiccup flinched as his 1 footstep echoed around the room. Taking another step Hiccup concluded that sneaking would be next to impossible as every step he took echoed around the room.

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Moving into the passage Hiccup felt his heart begin to beat faster again. Unlike the room he had been in the hallway was very dimply lit, so much in fact that he could only see 5 feet in front of him? His footsteps were making it difficult to travel without feeling like he was being followed; several times he would stop just to listen to his footsteps echo off the stone walls of the passage. Turning around a blank corner Hiccup froze as he caught sight of something red glowing up in the distance. Ducking back around the corner Hiccup eased his head out so he could spy on the object without having to expose himself. He felt his eyes widen, the object was gone, as though it had never been there. Leaning back behind the corner Hiccup took a deep breath. No reason to panic plenty of things could have caused the glow. Glass, a gem of some kind, maybe even another person. But unwelcome in his mind came the hissing worries. What if it was an enemy? Or worse yet what if it was mortality?

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Taking a deep breath Hiccup slowly eased his head back around the corner. The glow was still absent from where he had seen it. Taking another deep breath Hiccup thought. He could stay here and go no further, in which case he would be a sitting duck if the glow was an enemy. Or he could keep moving and hope the glow was something else. Deciding on the latter Hiccup stayed just long enough to draw his sword before stepping out from behind the corner and stepping forward. As he did so the light seemed to shift in the passage and he was now able to see a bit further in front of him. What he saw did not make him feel any better. He was no longer alone on the passage. He could make out the form of another being, and with a jolt Hiccup could see the outline of a raised blade. Lunging forward Hiccup brought the sword down through the air only to have it deflected by the other person's sword. Jumping back slightly Hiccup spun around and tried to use his shield to bash the enemy who only mimicked his movement and struck their shield's together with such force that Hiccup's arms threatened to drop his shield.

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Dropping into a low stance Hiccup swiped at the enemy's feet, but growled in frustration as again the enemy copied his movement and deflected the attack. Still moving Hiccup used his momentum to swing his shield around again hoping to swipe the feet out from under the enemy. And yet again the enemy copied him their shield's meeting for a second time, this time however when their shield's met Hiccup dropped his own shield and swung his sword in a violent upwards arc directed at the enemies' chest. Only to have the enemy do the same. Growling again Hiccup back up and put a few feet between himself and the enemy. As he did so the enemy did the same backing off into the darkness. Hiccup felt his eyes widen slightly. Taking a slow step forward Hiccup watched as the blurry outline of the enemies foot came into view. Withdrawing his foot Hiccup watched as the enemy did the same.

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This time Hiccup took a full step forward and sure enough his enemy did the same. Stooping down Hiccup picked up his dropped shield only to the have enemy do the same. Sheathing his sword Hiccup took another step forward confident he knew what was going on. As he had expected the enemy did the same its blurry outline reappearing in front of him. Reaching his hand forward Hiccup flinched slightly as his fingers brushed something cold and smooth. Taking another step forward Hiccup pressed his whole hand against the object in front of him. It was a mirror. a very dusty very large, mirror that sat right in the middle of the passage he was in. but no sooner had he thought this then the voice spoke again. "**THE THRID FEAR IS NATURAL BUT CAN BE OVER COME WITH CLEAR THINKING." **Hiccup felt the room spin. It was as though he was being spun around in a circle. But no sooner had the feeling started then it stopped.

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Staggering slightly Hiccup leaned forward against the mirror for balance, and as he did so he noticed something. The passage behind him had become more illuminated. As he turned around however Hiccup wished that it hadn't. The passage was not empty as he had thought. Coffins and sarcophaguses lined the walls, their black obsidian stone surfaces shining brightly in the new light. Several of the coffins had symbols etched onto their lids. And while most were unrecognizable he did find a few that he knew from his history lessons. Following the coffin lined passage back the way he had come Hiccup stepped back into the main chamber he had started in. only to find that he was no longer alone. A cloaked figure stood in front of him. As he stood there the figure turned and spoke in a women's voice. "So young Hiccup you now stand before mortality having conquered your fears." Hiccup shrugged. "It wasn't that difficult." The figured cocked its head. "And what is that supposed to mean?" again Hiccup shrugged. "The challenges were easy. They just weren't that scary I guess." Mortality seemed to bristle at this. "Those were the 3 fears of man. Fear of the dark, fear of the unknown, and fear of what you don't understand."

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Hiccup shrugged for a third time. "Maybe I'm an exception." Hiccup instantly knew he had said the wrong thing. Mortalities cloak seemed to billow up like an evil black cloud. "No one is exempt from the rules of fear. NO ONE!" it happened in a flash one moment mortality was glaring him down, and the next moment a large staff was in her hand. Hiccup feat fear spike into his system. The staff body was made out of some kind of spine, while the top of the staff had a human skull on it. "SO HICCUP YOU THINK YOU'RE ABOVE FEAR!" Hiccup took a step backward dread now welling up in his stomach turning his blood ice cold. "NO ONE IS ABOVE FEAR!" and before Hiccup could react mortality pointed her staff at him. Arcs of purple light exploded from the eye sockets of the skull, lanced forward and wrapped around Hiccup's arms, legs and waist. Behind him Hiccup felt something move and before he could even scream Hiccup felt himself being shoved backwards. As his back something hard Hiccup felt his eyes widen in horror as he realized what had happened, he had been shoved backwards into a coffin.

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No sooner had he realized this than the coffin lid began to move and before he could even struggle to escape the heavy stone lid slammed shut, entombing him alive inside the coffin. Hiccup scratched franticly at the stone surface of the lip. But his attempts to move the heavy lid were in vein. The lid was simply too heavy to move, and all he accomplished after several frantic minutes of clawing at the lid was to make his fingers raw and bloody. Hiccup screamed and shouted until his throat felt raw, and even then nothing happened. He was trapped in a coffin while he was very much alive. Then a whole new level of fear began to sink in. he was in a COFFIN! Then a sound that made his heart stop and his mind go numb with fear. The sound of something covering the lid of the coffin. Franticly Hiccup pounded his hands against the lid of the coffin, but it was no use. Even with his super human strength he could not lift the lid.

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Breathing was becoming difficult as Hiccup felt the air in the coffin becoming unbearably hot. His poundings were becoming weaker and weaker the air in the coffin was continuously getting hotter. He was now coughing whenever he tried to draw breath and his movements were becoming slower. And it was with great horror that Hiccup found his eyes drifting closed. His whole body was tingling, and his lungs burned as he coughed drawing in those last few mouthfuls of air. Against his will he felt his eyes drifting closed. '_Toothless….I'm sorry.'_

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 15 IS UP AND DONE.

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NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE HICCUP FACING OFF AGAINST MORTALITY, AND WE'LL SEE A BIT OF INTOLERANCE'S WORLD.

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FEAR'S BOON WILL NOT BE UP FOR VOTING. I ALREADY KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO FOR IT.

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I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REVIEWS.

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_**HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!**_


	16. fears and a blade

_Breathing was becoming difficult as Hiccup felt the air in the coffin becoming unbearably hot. His poundings were becoming weaker and weaker the air in the coffin was continuously getting hotter. He was now coughing whenever he tried to draw breath and his movements were becoming slower. And it was with great horror that Hiccup found his eyes drifting closed. His whole body was tingling, and his lungs burned as he coughed drawing in those last few mouthfuls of air. Against his will he felt his eyes drifting closed. 'Toothless….I'm sorry.'_

_._

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CHAPTER 16

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He was standing in front of the village. Hiccup watched as his father stepped forward out of the crowd that had assembled in front of him. "boy. You've been keeping secrets from this village, and from me. I'll only ask once, what have you done?" but Hiccup didn't speak; instead he just looked up at his father; who stared back at him an angry look covering his face. After another moment his father spoke again. "fine Hiccup. I didn't want to do this….but you've left me no choice." And before Hiccup could move or even react his father drew out his sword and thrust the blade forward into Hiccup's chest.

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Hiccup sat bolt upright his head spinning. Staggering to his feet Hiccup looked around. He was surrounded by darkness. But even as he looked around he could make out a form in the darkness stumbling towards it Hiccup felt his hand connect with something cool, slick, and scaly. He felt his eyes widen. "toothless?" he got no response. Shaking the form slightly Hiccup tried again. "TOOTHLESS?" again he got no response. He had been about to shout when a voice behind him spoke. "she wont wake. Not now, not ever." Whipping around Hiccup found himself staring at another figure. This one wearing a large black hooded robe.

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"what's wr-" "she's dead." Hiccup felt his blood boil. "she's not dead!" the figure nodded. "yes. she is, and it's your fault." Hiccup felt his heart stop. "no it's not-" but the figure interrupted him. "yes. it's your fault Hiccup. If she hadn't met you she never would have found those ruins; and if that had never happened she wouldn't have been able to poison herself. THIS IS YOUR FAULT HICCUP!" and before Hiccup could respond the figure lunched forward and jammed a blade through his chest.

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Hiccup staggered to the ground. He could feel warm blood dripping from the wound. Above him the figure stood. "tell me Hiccup how does it feel? How does death feel? How does it feel to die alone, and helpless? Now maybe you'll know what she felt when you left her to die." Hiccup opened his mouth to speak but found his voice wouldn't work. He could feel it now, the cold. It was beginning to seep in and take hold of him; making his shiver. Above him he could hear the figure speaking as though from far away. "tell me Hiccup…." The figure leaned in so the hood of its robe was level with Hiccup's face. "tell me….do you fear death?" and before Hiccup could respond the hood turned and Hiccup felt his blood freeze in his veins.

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The face that stared back at him was his own; but this version of his face was horribly twisted and mangled almost beyond comprehension. the eyes were sunken back into the skull and one of them was completely gone leaving behind the empty socket. The skin was a sickeningly white color and was stretched so tightly over the skull that Hiccup could see every bone and curve. The hair was patching and was falling out, and when the figure smiled Hiccup could see most of the teeth were gone. Hiccup opened his mouth to scream but he never got the chance.

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Hiccup felt his knees hit the ground. His heart was beating frantically, his breaths coming in panicked gasps. The darkness had vanished revealing a large well lit room, such a far contrast to where he had been a fraction of a second ago. Even as he stood their Hiccup watched as the light around him bent and shifted creating a pocket of darkness that swirled and spun like a child's top. As the darkness continued to spin however it began to compress turning back into the cloaked form of mortality. Again mortality spoke in a female's voice. "many mock fear. But few can still do so when faced with pure fear. You Hiccup were helpless to stop your own premature burial. And then you were forced to look at your form after it had gone through that most unnatural process of death. Tell me, do you still think yourself above fear?"

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Hiccup frantically shook his head. Mortality chuckled. "good." Hiccup felt his heart rate spike slightly as mortality began to walk forward. "fear is a funny tool. In the right hands it can not only be used for intimidation but it can also motivate people into action." Hiccup's eyes widened as mortailty pulled out a sword from under her cloak; the same sword his dad had shoved through his chest when felt like seconds ago. "even fewer people get to look upon the blade that ended their lives." As Hiccup watched the blade of the sword began to bend and shift; changing from a tradition broadsword into a new kind of blade Hiccup had never seen. The blade itself began to flatten out becoming thinner, while at the same time the tip of the blade began to fan outwards like a leaf; creating a tip that was wider than the shaft. The hilt lengthened and the bent in on itself creating a kind of guard that would protect the users fingers from attack.

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"this Hiccup is your new blade. From the moment it touches your enemy's skin they shall know fear, true unrelenting fear. But only for as long as the blade touched their skin. It is called Faastuz, or fear's blade. Know this, when you leave the overworld you will have to speak the blade's name for it to appear, it will not come for any other reason. Before you leave my domain I will tell you something. There are others…..others who can see that fear that lies in the center of your heart. When you encounter those being, do not try to hide your fear. You will fail, and they will use it against you. Now leave."

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And before Hiccup could respond, mortality turned away and seemed to dissipate into thin air. He had been about to turn when a low rumbling caught his attention. Turning Hiccup found that several large sections of stone had begun moving and were now forming into a set of stairs leading him upwards and out of the tomb he had been stuck in. moving up the stairs Hiccup soon emerged back out onto the large body of emptiness he had been dropped off on. Scanning the 'skies' Hiccup felt his eyes widen as his eyes found a large cluster of dragon circling above him. and while the group was big there were not as many as there had been when he'd left ignorance's domain. But his observations were interrupted by a familiar voice. _"did you have fun with mortality?"_ turning Hiccup found Rowena standing behind him in full dragon form. "I'm ready to leave this place; and move on to the next cursed lord." Rowena nodded. _'many are more then eager to leave mortalities' domain.'_

* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 16 IS UP AND DONE.

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SORRY I KNOW ITS SUPER SHORT BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO DRAW IT OUT.

THIS DOMAIN HAS GONE THROUGH SO MANY IDEAS AND PHASES IT'S ALMOST SHOCKING. AT ONCE POINT A FRIEND SAID I SHOULD WORK IN THRILLER SOME HOW. OBVIIOUSLY I DIDN'T.

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IF ANYONE IS CURIOUS HICCUP'S NEW SWORD LOOKS LIKE THE GLASS SWORDS FROM SKYRIM.

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SO I **REALLY **HATE TO DO THIS BUT…..I NEED YOU; THE READERS HELP.

I'M AT A LOSS FOR WHAT TO DO WITH INTOLERANCE'S DOMAIN. I HAVE THOUGHT AND THOUGHT AND THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT TO DO. AND I HAVE **NOTHING**!

SO IF ANYONE HAS ANY IDEAS I WOULD VERY MUCH LOVE TO HEAR THEM. AND IF I LIKE THEM I'LL INCLUDE THEM. OF COURSE THE PERSON WILL BE GIVEN FULL CREDIT FOR THE IDEA.

BECAUSE OF THIS BIG BLOCK I'M NOT SURE WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP. BUT I HOPE FOR IT TO NOT BE TOO LONG. AND SOON WE'LL STAND IN PRIDE'S DOMAIN. AND THEN WE'LL LEARN A HUGE SECRET. WHY DID THE DRAGON KNIGHT'S VANISH?

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HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN SOON.


	17. Pride

_And before Hiccup could respond, mortality turned away and seemed to dissipate into thin air. He had been about to turn when a low rumbling caught his attention. Turning Hiccup found that several large sections of stone had begun moving and were now forming into a set of stairs leading him upwards and out of the tomb he had been stuck in. moving up the stairs Hiccup soon emerged back out onto the large body of emptiness he had been dropped off on. Scanning the 'skies' Hiccup felt his eyes widen as his eyes found a large cluster of dragon circling above him. And while the group was big there were not as many as there had been when he'd left ignorance's domain. But his observations were interrupted by a familiar voice. "Did you have fun with mortality?" turning Hiccup found Rowena standing behind him in full dragon form. "I'm ready to leave this place; and move on to the next cursed lord." Rowena nodded. 'Many are more than egger to leave mortalities domain.'_

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CHAPTER 17

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Hiccup gasped for air as he felt the jet black chain tighten around his neck. His fingers ached as they tried to pull the chain off his neck. Beneath him Rowena was no better. Several chains had wrapped themselves around her wings, and a massive chain was winding its way around her neck. Even with her dragon form's massive strength she couldn't break free. In front in front of them the massive ball of chains that was intolerance's domain began to move and writhing like thousands of snakes; twisting and contorting until a massive face looked at them. **"Go away Rowena. The boy is not welcome here!" **_'INTOLERANCE! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!' _the chains tightened again; Hiccup could feel his lungs beginning to burn from lack of oxygen. **"I'll not have that boy in my wonderfully shackled world!"**

**.**

**.**

Instantly the chains released them. Hiccup winced slightly as he landed on Rowena's back. In front of them the mass of chains spoke. **"Leave. You are not welcome in my domain." **"_This boy is to be the next dragon knight high-priest. You must see him."_ the mass shook with anger. **"I do not. The boy has no trace of intolerance within his soul. I would be unable to control him even if I used my full power. NOW GO!" **Hiccup looked down at Rowena. "Maybe we should do as he says." After a moment Rowena responded. _'Perhaps you are right young Hiccup. However this will affect things. To the eyes of those dragons watching you; you are incomplete, you have not conquered a curse. Even now they turn away; they do not wish to merge with you.'_

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_._

Looking around Hiccup found they Rowena was correct many o the dragons that had been following them were turning away; but a few were still following them. Soaring through the sky Hiccup felt his mind begin to work. Only pride was left. What would his world be like? And how would Hiccup confront him? Would it be sword combat like with Fury? Or magical combat like ignorance? Or would he be forced to fight his way through tests like with mortality? In truth he was slightly afraid. Even as he sat there he could feel his muscles ache from fatigue. And if he had to do battle with pride he would need to end it quickly or risk exhaustion. _'Hiccup. We are close. Be ready. You must confront pride alone.'_ Hiccup looked down at Rowena. "why won't you be with me?" _pride was at the core of my downfall. If I set foot in his domain he would be able to control me. I would little more than his puppet."_

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_._

Hiccup nodded and looked ahead to the large castle they were nearing. As they moved closer Hiccup watched as a large section of wall folded outwards creating a perch for him to land on. Dropping off of Rowena Hiccup dropped 10 down and hit the stone floor. _'you are almost done Hiccup. After this you may go back and heal toothless. Don't forget, it was for her that you agreed to do this.'_ Hiccup nodded and turned away from Rowena. He hadn't forgotten. In fact it had been in the back of his mind since he had left her there in those ruins. Shaking his head Hiccup forced himself to move forward. He couldn't think about toothless right now. If he did he wouldn't be able to defeat pride, and he would fail.

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Moving forward Hiccup had just set foot off the folded wall when a voice spoke. "ahhhh Hiccup. I've been expecting you." It happened in a flash; as he spun around readying for an attack Hiccup's eyes closed for a fraction of a second. When they reopened however he was not standing in a castle like he had been. He was standing in a large room. Banners hung from the rafters, and bookshelves lined the walls. Across the room a large fire pit had been lain into the ground it's flames lapping at the air as though trying to escape the stone cistern they had been lit in. in front of the fire…. Hiccup felt his eyes widen and his grip on his sword tighten. In front of the fire, stood a man. The man was tall, easily over 6 feet. His wore a set of robes that were a dark blue, while the lining and edges of the robe were blood red.

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"ahhhhh Hiccup. I've been expecting you." Hiccup nodded. "pride." The figure nodded. "yes. Tell me, how to my brothers and sister fair?" Hiccup shrugged and began walking forward his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. "you won't need that blade Hiccup. I don't know what Rowena has told you, but I have no interest In fighting you." Again Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "and why is that? All the others have wanted to fight." Pride shrugged. "I'm better than my brothers and sister. While they fumble about with their own petty power; I see how all their powers interact. And then I use my own power to…influence each of them, until the truly desired outcome is met. Unlike them I see the full picture unhindered, and pure." Hiccup nodded. "and…..where do I stand in this picture?"

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Pride grinned revealing rows or razor sharp teeth. Hiccup took a small step backwards. Pride chuckled. "don't forget, unlike my brothers and sister, I'm also a sin; and that means I'm part demon. As for where you stand…." Hiccup watched as pride turned away from him and faced the fire. "right now you stand before me. Nothing more or less." Hiccup shrugged. "I thought you could see the big picture?" pride nodded. "I can. But right now the picture is mute. None of it matters until you leave my domain. But before we launch into a very long philosophical and moral debate let me ask you something." Pride turned and faced Hiccup. "You're here because you need to find a dragon soul to merge with correct?" Hiccup nodded; and pride continued. "and at this very moment the dragon that you a human have fallen in love with is dying?" Hiccup felt his throat tighten. "yes." again pride nodded. "but in order to heal her you have to merge with a dragon soul?" Hiccup sighed. "what are you getting at pride?"

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Pride shrugged. "what makes you think you're supposed to save her?" Hiccup felt his blood run cold. "what?" pride shrugged. "how do you know you're supposed to save her? Maybe she is supposed to die and when she does you'll merge with her soul. After all I bet you anything she would more than willingly to merge with you. Maybe you're supposed to let her die."

* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 17 IS UP AND DONE. SORRY ABOUT ANOTHER SHORT CHAPTER. BUT I LIKE IT.

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AND IT RAISES A GOOD QUESTION. WHAT IF IT IS TOOTHLESS'S SOUL HE'S SUPPOSED TO MERGE WITH?

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LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU ALL THINK.

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THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE FINAL CHAPTER THAT HICCUP SPENDS IN THE OVERWORLD.


	18. Bormahdov and the great forge

_Pride shrugged. "what makes you think you're supposed to save her?" Hiccup felt his blood run cold. "what?" pride shrugged. "how do you know you're supposed to save her? Maybe she is supposed to die and when she does you'll merge with her soul. After all I bet you anything she would more than willingly to merge with you. Maybe you're supposed to let her die."_

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CHAPTER 18

ROWENA'S POV

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Rowena watched as Hiccup walked into pride's fortress. The walls closed around Hiccup cutting him off from Rowena's sight; and she was left alone standing there waiting. But as she stood there she felt something, a felling she hadn't felt since….. Rowena turned as a small crossed her face. "malacath." Behind her a man stood, clad in full dragon knight armor, the chest plate etched with designs that looked like the face of a dragon. But malacath wore no helmet, he didn't need to his eyes were gone leaving only empty sockets that stared blankly through space. After a moment malacath spoke.

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"I sense you my mistress…..faint; weak." Again Rowena smiled. "your senses betray you. Like you betrayed me." A scowl of anger and confusion crossed Malacath's face. "after all that has happened still you torment me. How is it that you still live?" Rowena shook her head sadly. "I don't live. I'm only here in spirit. My body has long since rotted away. ashes to ashes, dust to dust." malacath shuddered in anger. "you are difficult to kill." Rowena chuckled. "perhaps for one such as yourself. To have fallen so far, and to have learned nothing. That is your failure." Malacath took a step forward. His voice echoed with barely contained rage. "the failure is yours. No longer do your whispers crawl within my skull. No longer am I burdened by teachings that weaken me. I have done what you said was impossible. I have entered into contract with the shades. And they in turn have given me the power I sought."

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Again Rowena shook her head sadly. "and has this power helped you? Has it allowed you to undo the blindness I cursed you with? Can you perceive the overworld around you?" Malacath flinched as though he had been struck. Seizing the moment Rowena took a step forward. "you betray not only me, but your fellow dragon knights. You became the very thing you swore to protect the world against." Malacath took another step backwards. And Rowena took a step forward. "and now your body and soul are separated. And while your soul wanders here, your body is nothing more than a slowly rotting vessel, for one of those shades you so have helped you. You're nothing more than an abomination. A monster who betrayed and killed all those who cared for him."

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HICCUP'S POV

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Hiccup felt the grip on his blade tighten. "what did you say?" pride shrugged and turned so his whole body was facing him. "you heard me. What if it's Toothless's soul you're supposed to merge with? What if she is supposed to die?" Hiccup's response was automatic; drawing his sword out and holding in front of him as though he could fend of pride's words. Pride chckled. "If you are set on doing battle Hiccup then allow me to oblige." Pointing at Hiccup pride flicked his wrist. Instantly Hiccup's sword was pulled from his grip, flew across the room, and buried itself up the hilt in the side of a bookshelf. Again pride chuckled. "battle over. you lost. Now back to what I was saying. You don't know how fate and destiny work. You can't possibly know how they work; I'm the most powerful curse lord and I don't even completely know how they work."

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Despite his fear and anger Hiccup felt his curiosity peak. "Aren't destiny and fate the same thing?" pride smiled but shook his head. "I mistake many mortals make. No they are not the same things. Fate is set. I cannot be changed, no matter how powerful the person is. Destiny, on the other hand is a forever changing. It is not set. But none of this really matters with you. What you do is your own choice. Now answer my question. How do you know toothless is supposed to be saved?" Hiccup shook his head. "I don't. but I still won't let her die!" pride raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?" Hiccup's response was out before he thought about it. "BECAUSE I LOVE HER!" as those words echoed off the wall pride chuckled. Behind him the fire crackled a bit higher for a moment. "love…..such a mortal feeling. And yet it's proven strong enough to draw the attentions of beings as powerful as myself. Hold onto that feeling Hiccup. Don't let it escape you."

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For the first time since entering pride's world Hiccup took a step towards pride. "why must I do all this?" pride looked at him confused. "why must I fight through these lords and gain their boons? Why must I do any of this?" pride nodded and folded his hands together. "I worth question. To put it simply Hiccup, you have to gain the attention of the dragons if you wish to merge with their souls." Hiccup nodded. "ok, but why must I go through this? Why can't I just walk up to a dragon as ask to merge with it?" this time pride did not chuckle but instead burst into laughter. "because you'd most likely get a face full of flames. Dragons were the first living beings to gain entry to the overwolrd. Because of this they were the first living beings we curse lord encountered in battle. And they were the first to defeat us. When humans entered the overworld they wished to defeat us too. But they could not. So they made a deal with Bormahdov the father of the dragons."

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pride turned and looked Hiccup in the eyes before continuing. "the deal struck was this. The humans would use dragon blood to weaken and eventually destroy part of their own soul. And in exchange part of a dragon's soul would merge with the humans and grant them the power needed to defeat the curse lords." Hiccup frowned. "why would the dragons want to merge with a human if they had already defeated you and the other curse lords?" pride smiled. "dragons seek power, they always have and always will. But dragon power and a human power are very different. When a human dies the dragon soul is released and what the human has learned the dragon has learned. By doing this a dragon can learn lifetimes of power at an incredibly fast rate. This is why they merge with humans." hiccup nodded. "I think I understand." Pride smiled. "good. Few do." Pride watched Hiccup for another moment before speaking.

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"I can see them. the strings of destiny and the chains of fate. And while the chains cannot be unshackled the strings are constantly shifting and ever changing. What will you do Hiccup? Will you become the next great dragon knight and protect the world from the evil that threatens it? Or will you fall to temptation? Will you seek out that power with allows you to mold and twist your fellow human?" Hiccup took a step forward. "never. I'll protect humanity from evil. I'll never fall to it." Pride chuckled again this time more darkly than before. "I remember when another young man stood before me and said the same thing. Now that man has become something else, so twisted thing that has no name. and while his soul is trapped in limbo here in the overworld his body still moves, still commands, and seeks revenge on all those who he believes have wronged him. know this. He said the same words you did. But it was his own lust for power that drove him to his fate. And it was this fate that ended the dragon knights and brought about the order's death."

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Hiccup felt the hair on his arms prickle. He watched as pride turned towards the fire pit and continued to stare into it as he spoke. "I'm not a bad being Hiccup. I simply am. Neither good nor evil. I wish wish that man's fate on no one. to be broken the way he is… it's beyond even my cruelest ideas. But enough talk. You have indulged my liking of debate and discussion for long enough." Turning towards Hiccup, pride raised his hand and Hiccup watched as his blade dislodged itself from the bookshelf, flew back across the room and came to stop hovering in front of him. "take your blade Hiccup." Reaching out Hiccup gripped the hilt of his sword and pulled it out of the air and resheathed it. As pride watched him he spoke. "pride is like an armor. And while pride can be dented it can never be broken."

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Still watching Hiccup took a step back as pride pointed at him. "your wear your pride differently. It does not radiate outwards like most but instead turns inward. A perfect way for an armor to be built." Hiccup flinched as pride snapped his fingers, the sound echoing around the room like a bone breaking. Instantly the leather armor Hiccup was wearing began to tear and twist. Hiccup forced himself to stand perfectly still as the leather over his chest began to warp and ripple lie water struck by a stone. Slowly the color began to change; turning from the dark brown of leather to the silver of metal. Looking at his arms Hiccup watched as they began to change the joins seeming to grow chainmail while the fingers became segmented rings of metal each on ending in a small but sharp claw like point. His legs were changing to but instead fully covering them in metal the armor was twisting instead placing a metal plate in the front while leaving the back leather so as not to impede his ability to move.

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As the twisting and warping stopped Hiccup found that on his chest 2 large sections of metal had dented inwards with intricate designs carved along the sides of the dent, making it look to a set of eye sockets sunk down into the metal. Looking back up to pride Hiccup had been about to speak when pride held up his hand. "go Hiccup. Toothless is still dying, and you have yet to meet Bormahdov." Hiccup nodded and had been about to turn and leave when pride raised both hands over his head and looked upwards. instantly the room began to shake as the bricks that made up the roof separated and cleared away revealing the sky above them. but not pack of flying dragons met Hiccup's gaze. Instead only one dragon flew and the moment it was clear the dragon doze down and landed on the ground with a loud crash. Straightening up the dragon leaned it's long neck down and peered at Hiccup with one massive eye.

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"Hiccup." Hiccup almost jumped out of his skin. The dragon actually spoke; not in his mind as Rowena or toothless had done, but instead with its mouth. "all others have left, while I remain. Your soul calls to me. It cries not of battle but of honor. It echoes my own. Come and we shall smelt our souls together in the great forges." Hiccup looked shakily to pride who nodded. "this is what you came here for Hiccup. climb on. Rowena will follow when she sees you." Shaking slightly Hiccup moved closer to the dragon who leaned to one side to allow him to climb on. As the dragon straightened up it spoke again. "I am Dremven." Hiccup would have spoken but was cut off as Dremven's body shook for a moment before taking flight; the massive wings on either side of Hiccup flapping furiously and threatening to unseat him if he didn't hold on. As they sailed through the skies Hiccup became aware of thing following them. Twisting around he found Rowena had changed back into a dragon and was fastly gaining on them. as she neared them she spoke. '_you're training is almost complete Hiccup soon you will have the power to save toothless.'_

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_._

GENERAL POV

BERK

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Gobber watched as the merchants began to set up their carts. With the winter passes now thawing out traders would become a regular sight in Berk. Every other week or so there would be new carts with new merchants bringing new things to trade and interesting bits of news. As he walked amongst the carts and stalls he couldn't help but listen in on some of the conversations. But he came to a stop when something caught his attention. A trade was sitting around a small fire talking with several others who seemed to be listening with rapped attention. "I'm telling you, it's the sign of a dragon nest!" one of the other merchants laughed. "and how would you know a dragon nest Olaf? Did you see the dragon?" Olaf shook his head. "no. but there were fish bones everywhere and the ground and rocks had gashes from where the beast had torn at it with its claws. I'm telling you it's a dragon nest." Gobber made his way towards the group speaking as he moved.

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"where did you see this nest?' the man looked at him. only a few miles from this village. It's in a large clearing with a pond." gobber nodded, and stroked his beard. "could you tell if the fish bones were old or fresh?" the merchant shuddered. "the smell they gave off was of death." Gobber nodded. "we'll send a group of warriors out to investigate. But don't fret. You're safe here in the village." But the merchant shook his head. "no. I'm only staying long enough so my horses can rest and my wife can gather healing herbs. Then I'm leaving. I'll net be around if or when that dragon decides it's hungry."

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HICCUP'S POV

OVERWORLD

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Hiccup felt his eyes widen. They had left the sky now, and instead Dremven had dove downward into a massive hole in the ground that seemed to swallow them up. But the pit was not pitch black as Hiccup had expected. True the first bit of the pit had been too dark to see anything clearly, but then they had emerged into a cavern so big it might as well have been another world. Far below them on the cavern floor Hiccup could make out small pinpricks of light. As they moved downward towards these lights however Hiccup felt his eyes widen even more. The lights were not torches as he had thought but instead huge cauldrons of white hot metal moving along massive tracks that hung suspended in the air. scurrying between the cauldrons Hiccup could just barely make out the form of people. But he had no time to investigate as Dremven continued onwards soaring over them all and continuing onwards towards what Hiccup could only assume was the back of the cavern.

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Agfter what seemed like an eternity Hiccup caught a glimpse of something. But what he saw couldn't possibly be real there was no way it could be. And yet as they flew even closer the thing did not vanish but became more and more clear. At the back of the cavern was a massive stone obelisk that jutted up at an angle; out of the cavern floor. And perched on the very time of that obelisk was a dragon. But not a normal dragon, no this dragon was gigantic and could easily make the mountains around Berk look like small hills. At first Hiccup thought perhaps the dragon was glowing. He'd heard legends about underground dragons who would glow to illuminate the world around them. but as the flew even closer Hiccup's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

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The scales were not glowing as he had though. Instead the dragon was bleeding, and it's blood was not only glowing red hot but was flowing out of the wounds all over its body, and finally falling from it creating dozens of red and white hot streams that fell from the tip of the stone obelisk which it sat on and was channeled through great stone riverbeds and into the giant caldrons which were then whisked away into the darkness. Gripping Dremven a bit tighter Hiccup felt them begin to descend and finally landed on a large stone plate just under the tip of the stone obelisk. On all sides of the stone plate the blood-lave dripped down creating a cage of molten blood. For a moment nothing happened. Then slowly the great dragon craned his neck down to stare at them.

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When it spoke it was with a voice that seemed to make the air itself shake with fear. "**so…. You are the human.**" Hiccup nodded and slowly clambered down off of Dremven's back. "." the dragon leaned down further stretching his neck until his eyes was level with Hiccup. After another moment he spoke. "**I can see it within you. The heart fire; that will to do what must be done. No matter what it costs you.**" Hiccup nodded again. "you're Bormahdov. The father dragon?" Bormahdov nodded. "**yes. I was the first. Not just in your world. But in all worlds. I am the first dragon." **Hiccup nodded again but found he could not take his eyes from the large gashes that oozed the red hot blood. **"you are wondering if I am in pain from these wounds."** Hiccup flinched slightly as Bormahdov chuckled; a low rumble that shook the ground under hiccup's feet.

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**"I will not lie the blood flows do give me some level of discomfort. But such discomfort is easily overcome with the knowledge of what my blood does."** Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "and what does your blood do?" again the ground shook as Bormahdov chuckled. "**my blood is used for the heating and the forging of the life metals. Without my blood to keep the great forges running; all life in every world would dim and flicker out. like a candle devoid of the wax it requires to keep its self lit." **next to him Rowena spoke. "Bormahdov….. this boy is to be the next dragon knight high priest. We humbling as for your blessing and that you merge this boy's soul with that of his chosen dragon." As she finished speaking Rowena bowed slightly. After a moment of silence Bormahdov spoke. "**I can see your world. So fragile, yet it teeters on the brink of war. But not with my kind."** Hiccup shook his head. "we've been at war with dragons for years. How can they not be your kind?"

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Again Bormahdov chuckled. **"those things you call dragons. They may be soldiers in this war but they did not start it. they are being led by something far more horrific, something much more sinister. They are no longer my kin. They are no more dragon then you are a dog." **

Hiccup looked at Bormahdov confused. "how can they not be dragons?" **"because they take orders from a shade. A true dragon would never do such a thing."** Hiccup looked from Bormahdov to Rowena. "what is a shade?"

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This time it was Rowena that spoke. "a shade is a form of demon that cannot fully enter the mortal plain of existence. They exist in a place between life and death, neither real, nor fake, not alive or dead; simply there. And while they themselves are physically weak, magically they are very powerful. The weakest shade is the equivalent to the most powerful human mage." Hiccup nodded. "but how would a shade control a dragon?" Bormahdov rolled his shoulders, the equivalent of a shrug. **"we dragons are social creatures. We have a class system. no doubt that shade has used it magic to warp a dragon's body so it would be at the top of this system." **Hiccup nodded. "but if shades are so weak. Wouldn't they seek to possess a human? And make that human their new body? and if he wanted a human host why not take a dragon knight for one?"

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This time both Bormahdov and Rowena stiffed at this question. And while Rowena didn't speak Bormahdov did. "**such a thing is beyond comprehension. And is an act of true unshackled evil. Few shades are powerful enough to do it. For to take over another's body entirely, would require the complete and utter severance of that living person's soul. It has happened only once in all of existence. But it was this one act that brought about the destruction of the dragon knights. but that is not why you have come before me." **Bormahdov straightened up slightly are looked to Dremven. "you have chosen this boy?" Dremven nodded. Again Bormahdov peered down at Hiccup. "and do you Hiccup accept Dremven as your dragon?" turning Hiccup looked at Dremven. Dremven was big perhaps a third size bigger than toothless was. His scales were a dark purple and seemed to shimmer in the light. His wingers were large and Hiccup cold see the edges were razor sharp; similar to a timberjack dragon's wings. Dremven's hind legs were powerful and his tail looked similar to a nadder's tail. In the back of his mind hiccup wondered if Dremven could shoot those tail spikes like a nadder could.

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Turning back to Bormahdov Hiccup nodded. "no other dragon would have me." Bormahdov nodded. "**very well then. Stand in front of Dremven." **Moving Hiccup did as he was told. He was shaking slightly. How would he be merged with Dremven? Still shaking he watched as Bormahdov's face and cheeks began to swell. A moment later Bormahdov's mouth opened wide. But instead of flames erupting from Bormahdov's open mouth, the same red hot lava like blood that seeped out and covered his body. before he could even blink the lava blood was covering him. Hiccup let out another scream of pain as the red hot substance splashed across his skin instantly setting his nerves and skin on fire. The pain was intense, beyond mind numbing. There was no way he would survive this. It was the end and yet….. as more flowed over him he found the pain beginning to ebb away.

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He turned as found Dremven was shaking as the blood covered his back and neck. But Hiccup's focus soon turned as the blood began to swirl and shift on it's own. Terrified Hiccup felt the blood begin to swell and travel up his body. covering his chest, arms and neck in the boiling hot substance. As the blood began to swell over his face Hiccup heard Rowena speak. "try to keep your mouth shut."

* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

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HAD A LOT OF FUN WRITING THIS CHAPTER. PRIDE WAS A FUN CHARACTER TO WRITE. And BORMAHDOV HAS BEEN IN THE BACK OF MY MIND FOR A LONG TIME.

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LOTS OF STUFF HAPPENED IN THIS CHAPTER. WE MET MALACATH, AND NOW TOOTHLESS'S HIDING SPOT MIGHT BE COPROMISED.

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HOPEFULLY EVERYONE IS STILL ENJOYING THIS STORY. AND WILL CONTINUE TO.

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SEE YOU ALL AGAIN NEXT CHAPTER.


	19. REVILATIONS!

_He turned as found Dremven was shaking as the blood covered his back and neck. But Hiccup's focus soon turned as the blood began to swirl and shift on it's own. Terrified Hiccup felt the blood begin to swell and travel up his body. covering his chest, arms and neck in the boiling hot substance. As the blood began to swell over his face Hiccup heard Rowena speak. "try to keep your mouth shut."_

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CHAPTER 19

BERK

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Gobber looked at the small note he had just received from Stoick's messenger hawk. 'passing through the jaws of the whales. Be back by tomorrow.' Setting the note down Gobber mad e a mental note to give the note to Hiccup when he next saw the lad. But he had no time to focus on that. Word of the possible dragon nest had spread through the village like wildfire. Now the village was begging him and the other dragon trainees to investigate and if needed drive off the dragon. Rubbing his 'ax arm' Gobber, sighed and hurried off to the trainees who had assembled. "where's Hiccup?" Gobber watched as Astrid looked around as though expecting the boy to just appear out of thin air. "never mind that lad. I'm sure if Hiccup were free he would be here." But Astrid shook her head. "it's not just this onetime Gobber. Hiccup's been vanishing regularly now. It seems like he's only ever here for training and meals. The rest of the time no one can find him."

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Gobber sighed. "lass if I didn't know any better I'd say you were asking about Hiccup because you care for him." Astrid face went slightly red but whether from embarrassment or anger Gobber couldn't tell. "listen lass. We're going into a dragon nest. Best keep your wits about you and not on Hiccup." Astrid grumbled but fell silent in compliance.

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HICCUP'S POV

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Hiccup groaned as he began to awaken. His vision was blurry, his head left like it was shattered into a billion pieces, and his whole body ached and inched and felt bloated. Shifting slightly Hiccup whimpered as a flare of pain shot through his body like a lightning bolt. Blinking furious Hiccup tried to clear his vision but became frustrated as he found no matter how many times he blinked his vision simply would not clear. Growling Hiccup tried to move again only to find his body refused to work properly. His arms felt too long and his hands felt numb as though half of his fingers were asleep. Shifting slightly Hiccup grunted. His body felt heavy, like he was being weighed down. From far off he could hear a voice speaking to him. "the first time is always severe. It will not always be like this young Hiccup." Opening his mouth Hiccup spoke…or at least thought he had. But instead of words growls, hums, and roars.

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His vision was beginning to clear and yet his body continued to feel heavy. Shifting his head Hiccup looked down at his arms. Only it wasn't his arms he found himself looking at. Strong legs as thick as a grown man's body were where his arms should have been. His head snapped to the side as sure enough his other arm had also been replaced by another leg. It was at that point he became aware of something, or more specifically 2 something's. wings one on each side of his back, each one larger than who whole body. even as he stared at them he felt them ruffle slightly. "HOLY SHIT I'M A DRAGON!" but no words came out of his mouth, instead a roar so loud it seemed to shake the ground under his feet.

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GOBBER'S POV

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Gobber's head snapped in the direction of the mountains. The roar had been deafening and left no chance of it being anything other than a dragon. Next to him Astrid spoke. "that….that was very loud." Gobber nodded. "yes lass. It was. Come on we've got to hurry."

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HICCUP'S POV

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"HOLY SHIT I'M A DRAGON! HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT!" but Hiccup's words did not leave his mouth instead replaced by roars and growls. "HOLY CRAP I HAVE WINGS!" Hiccup spun his head around and did a 180 with his head so he could look at the large wings that now sprouted from his back. It was easy to move his wings, like flexing his arms. Hiccup watched amazed as his wings unfurled and opened jutting out on either side of his body. in front of him he heard someone clear their throat. Turning his head back around Hiccup watched as Rowena smiled at him. "While I am glad you like your new body we must hurry. Things happen much faster in the overworld; how else could you go through all that in less than a candle mark? However if we do not hurry toothless will die and everything will have been for nothing."

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Hiccup nodded. "you need to focus on your body. Your human body. Picture it, every patch of skin, every hair, your fingers, your toes, your face. Picture it in your mind." Closing his eyes Hiccup did as he was told, he picture his face, his hair, the clothes he wore." But his concentration was cut off as a strange feeling began to spread across his body. it was as though he was stripping off clothes that were not only soaking wet, but hugged his body like a second skin. Opening his eyes, Hiccup watched as his massive body began to shrink, while the scales that lined his body began to change color, changing from the dark brown color to the color of flesh. His massive legs became arms, while his claws became fingers and toes. Hiccup's back arched as his wings shriveled and seemed to be sucked into his back. His face burned and itched as the scales vanished being replaced by skin.

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As his hands finished forming Hiccup began scratching at his face trying to make the itching stop. "come now Hiccup we don't have much time." Standing up hiccup broke into a small run to keep up with Rowena who sprinted between piles of rubble until they came upon toothless. Hiccup felt his blood turn to ice as his heart stopped. Gone were the jet black scales that covered her body; instead replaced by scales that were a pale grey color. Even as he knelt down next to her Hiccup could feel her body trembling. Touching her scale Hiccup jerked his hand away a second later, as blistering heat scalded his hand. Looking up to Rowena Hiccup could hear the desperation in his voice. "please….what do I do? Please Rowena how can I save her?"

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Rowena chuckled. "search your mind, you know how. And if you don't know, the dragon part of your mind does." Looking down at toothless Hiccup felt nothing but helplessness. But even as he looked at her an idea floated to the surface of his mind. Reaching down Hiccup gripped one of toothless's claw. Ignoring the burning feeling Hiccup put his thumb against the base of the claw while bringing his other hand to the claw's point. Dragging the claw across his palm Hiccup winced slightly as he felt the claw cut through his skin, and muscle. As he let go of the claw Hiccup could feel his blood dripping from the gash. Moving over to the leg that toothless had used to crush the jars. Even as he knelt down next to her he felt his shift. Slowly one of her eyes opened. "Hiccup….." but Hiccup only smiled. "shhhhhh. Just relax. Everything will be better soon." Reaching down Hiccup picked up toothless's leg.

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Of a moment he hesitated. How could this possibly save her? But that thought vanished as he looked at toothless laying there helpless and dying. Bringing his hand down Hiccup smeared his own blood into toothless's wounds, mixing their blood together. It happened in a flash, one moment he was kneeling next to toothless, and the next pain blasted through his head. Clutching his head Hiccup let out a whimper and stumbled backwards. But his eyes were drawn to toothless as the pale color of her scales began to change and warp. He watched as the normal jet black color of her scales began to return while the pale grey color writhed and wriggled forming…

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Hiccup felt his eyes widen; behind him Rowena spoke. "this is my last gift to you Hiccup. From the moment I knew I would die I began weaving a plot that would allow the dragon knights to return. Now the plot is coming to an end." Hiccup watched amazed as the colors of toothless's scales continued to bend and twist until the grey had formed a pattern over her body. Again Hiccup's eyes widened. "it's a dragon glyph." Rowena nodded. "no one person may control the dragon knights. from the first order there have always been two leaders, always a man and a women." Hiccup looked to Rowena. "you mean…" Rowena nodded. "Yes." Turning back Hiccup watched as a shudder ran through toothless's body. a moment later the scales began to change colors again shifting from jet black to a gentle pink.

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Stunned Hiccup watched as Toothless shrank and twisted until a girl lay before him; not a dragon. As he looked at her Hiccup felt his face flush slightly red. The girl in front of him wore no clothing. Taking off his shirt Hiccup laid the cloth over her chest partly to keep her warm but also to keep her modesty. A moment later the girl's eyes opened. Hiccup felt his breath catch. The girl's eyes were a startling blue color. After a moment the girl tried to sit up, but grimaced in pain and lay back down. "Lie still. You've been trapped in your dragon body for many lifetimes, but now Aria, you're back in your own body."

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Hiccup looked up at Rowena. "what do you mean trapped?" Rowena looked at him sadly. "I could only save one dragon knight from malacath's rampage. I chose to save Aria. But to do so I had to hide her in a way that no one would think she was still alive. So I trapped her in her dragon form, and sealed the human side of her mind away. if she knew if she ever suspected who or what she used to be she would have died trying to stop Malacath. Then every loss would have been in vain. 1 dragon knight is not enough to stop Malacath. All the world is about balance, everything has an opposite. Men and women, right and wrong, even light and dark. you Hiccup and Aria and the 2 halves that are needed. Now it is up to you to stop the blight that I allowed to happen." Hiccup felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle slightly as Aria spoke. "Lady Rowena, what do you mean you allowed this to happen?"

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Rowena looked at them sadly. "I always knew Malacath was hungry for power, but I never thought he would go so far to deal with shades to get it. Nor did I think he would wipe out the dragon knights. All of this is his fault as well as mine. I am as much to blame as he is." Rowena looked away and off into the distance. "my time is short, now that Aria is human again the spell I used is complete, the force that was holding me here on this world is gone, and I'm fading." Rowena leaned and spoke in a rushed tone.

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"listen, listen. Malacath's soul is no longer in control of his body. the shade is the one in control now. And although it has been twisted by Malacath's memories it is most certainly not Malacath. Although some sick and twisted part of him remains due to the shade's horrid magic. To put a stop to all of this you'll have to kill him and by extension the shade controlling him." Aria nodded and spoke. "How do we do that?" Rowena shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you. When I died there were things were lost. But there are people who would know. Seek out the oath keepers. It is there eternal duty to ensure knowledge is not lost. If anyone would know, they would." Rowena opened her mouth to say more but a deep cold male voice cut her off. "Rowena Lefay." Hiccup's head snapped towards a new comer. The man wore a jet black traveler cloak that billowed around him even though no wind stirred the ruins they were in. after another moment the man spoke.

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"Your spell is up. And now you're soul is mine." Rowena nodded sadly. The man chuckled. "it's funny after all this time I would have thought you would try to run, or hide." Rowena shook her head. "a deal was struck and I intend to honor that deal. My soul to replace Aria's in the void." Hiccup felt Aria shift beneath him. "no, mistress no. you can't…" but her movement stopped as she let out a groan of pain. Rowena looked to her. "I must. That was the deal. My soul, for yours. How else could you have lived so many lifetimes as a dragon? Because if my deal your soul was never claimed by the void. But know this Aria. The deal has come to an end. If you die you will stay dead. And everything that has been done will have been in vain." Aria nodded. "yes mistress." Rowena looked to Hiccup. "do you understand Hiccup? I entrust you with that which I gave my own life to protect. Will you protect her as I would?" Hiccup nodded. "I'd die for her." Rowena smiled. "Before all this is over, you might just." Turing Rowena looked to Aria. "Aria. I have no right to order you to do anything all I can do is ask you to do an old women a favore. So many have died on these grounds. They died in the fires of conflict and blood, and although they went with honor they have not been honored. You need not do any elaborate ceremony. But do what you wish would be done for you." Aria nodded. "I will mistress." Rowena turned towards the man.

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"my time is up. Now do your duty charon." The man named charon brought his hands up. Instantly his black cloak swirled around him and began to condense around his hands. Hiccup's eyes widened as the man's cloak twisted and became a scythe. Hiccup felt Aria shift as the man stepped closer to Rowena. "embrace the void Rowena; as it embraces you!" in one swift motion the man swung the scythe across Rowena's body. but no body fell, no blood spilled, not even a whisper of pain left Rowena's mouth. Instead Rowena's body simply vanished into the air, leaving them alone with the man named charon who looked at them. "before I go…..allow me to offer you one bit of advice. Do not try to stop all evil you can't. all you can do is hold the evil back. For as long as there is good, there will be evil. Don't try to do more than you are destined to." And before their very eyes charon too faded into thin air; leaving hiccup and Aria alone in the ruins.

* * *

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AN: WELL FOLKS. WHAT CAN I SAY?

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SO AFTER TALLYING UP THE REVIEWS AND MASSAGES ARIA WAS THE WINNING NAME.

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THE VOTING WAS INCREDABLE, IN LESS THAN A WEEK I GOT 18 REVIEWS AND OVER 30 PRIVATE MESSAGES. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

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A HUGE THANKS TO SEVERAL AUTHORS WHO ALLOWED ME TO BOUNCH IDEA OFF THEM FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS. GOT A LOT OF GREAT IDEAS AND CAN'T WAIT TO USE THEM.

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MUST SAY THOUGH. SLIGHTLY SURPRISED NO ONE GUESS THAT THE NEW CHARACTER WOULD BE TOOTHLESS'S HUMAN FORM. NOT ONCE PERSON GUESSED IT. SO I GUESS NO ONE GETS THIS INTERNET COOKIE.

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NOW ON TO A VERY LARGE WARNING. THE CHAPTERS FROM THIS POINT ON WILL CONTAIN A LOT OF AU MATEARIAL. I'M GOING TO EXPAND THE STORY AND NOT JUST TALK ABOUT BERK BUT MANY OTHER LOCATIONS AND FACTIONS WITHIN HICCUP'S WORLD. SO MOST OF IT WILL BE MADE UP AND STRAIGHT FROM MY HEAD.

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ONCE AGAIN I'D LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE VOTING AND A **HUGE **THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE STUCK WITH ME THIS LONG.

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THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOOO MUCH.


	20. WE NEED TO TALK

hey everyone.

hope you're all well.

.

.

so i need to do a few things before i go any further with this story.

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firstly i need to explain to all of you why chapters are coming so slowly right now. to be honest, i'm really staring to dislike this story. it was fun writing in at first, and i was having fun, and loving all the reviews and PMs, i was getting.

but now when i go to check my emails i have 20PMs each one asking me when the next chapter will be up, or what i will being doing in the next chapter.

i dont mind getting PMs. in fact i love it. several PMs from various readers have really helped me to flesh out chapters and ideas.

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but please use common sense. you would get annoyed too if you were constantly getting people messages and all that was in them was,

'when will the next chapter be out'

'what will be in the next chapter'

'please tell me the next chapter will be out this week'

ect, ect.

so please use common sense, please dont email me more than once a week, unless we get to talking about something specific.

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secondly, i'm starting to get annoyed with this story. it's no longer fun to write the chapters out. now it feels like a chore, and not a joy. so i'm less inclined to write them.

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thirdly. was me making toothless into a human that bad? i've gotten maybe 30 PMs from readers telling me they no longer like my story because i did that; and that they might continue to read it if i 'come back to my senses and change toothless back into a dragon. (yes someone actually wrote that to me)

i had always planned to turn her into a human. from the very first chapter i planned to do that. so i'm sorry but i wont be undoing it. sorry to all those who pestered me to changer her back.

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and lastly i'm working on other stories, not just the 'i'm not a youngling story here on FF. but i'm also working on other stories, stories that i hope will someday be novels. i plan to post them on FanFiction's sister site fictionpress once they are ready.

so much of my time is going into those stories.

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well there it is. most of you will probably feel like i'm just making excuses ad whining; but i still felt like i had to at least explain myself.

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i do have part of the next chapter written and it will be posted when i finish it. i just have no idea when that is.


	21. funeral pier

_ts"my time is up. Now do your duty charon." The man named charon brought his hands up. Instantly his black cloak swirled around him and began to condense around his hands. Hiccup's eyes widened as the man's cloak twisted and became a scythe. Hiccup felt Aria shift as the man stepped closer to Rowena. "embrace the void Rowena; as it embraces you!" in one swift motion the man swung the scythe across Rowena's body. but no body fell, no blood spilled, not even a whisper of pain left Rowena's mouth. Instead Rowena's body simply vanished into the air, leaving them alone with the man named charon who looked at them. "before I go…..allow me to offer you one bit of advice. Do not try to stop all evil you can't. all you can do is hold the evil back. For as long as there is good, there will be evil. Don't try to do more than you are destined to." And before their very eyes charon too faded into thin air; leaving hiccup and Aria alone in the ruins._

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CHAPTER 20

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Hiccup watched as slowly Aria sat up before speaking. "Hiccup. Help me up. We have work to do." Hiccup nodded and moved so she could lean against his shoulder for support. Slowly Hiccup helped Aria to her feet before speaking. "whatever you need to do we should do it quickly. The sun is starting to set and these mountains will get very cold. Nodding Aria spoke. "Help me gather wood. We need it in a large pile so we can burn it." Hiccup looked to her. "what are you planning?" Aria smiled weakly. "the most basic burial rite for a dragon knight is to be burned in a pier. But since we have no bodies we'll simply have to create one peir for them all. Now come on." Hiccup watched as Aria tried to take a step without his help, only to have her legs crumble beneath her. Rushing to her side Hiccup helped her back up. "are you ok?" Aria nodded. "I'm fine, just… unused to this body. I…." but Aria broke off as she brought her right hand up to rub her eyes.

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"what's wrong Aria?" Aria shook her head slowly. As she did so Hiccup felt his heart jolt, small tears were forming in her eyes. "Aria….please….what's wrong?" again Aria shook her head. "nothing. My hand….it's healed." Hiccup looked from her face to her hand. "I don't understand." Aria slowly flexed her fingers. "When Malacath attacked he and I did battle. He…..he cut off the fingers on my right hand." Hiccup felt his eyes widen. "that's what happened to your tail." Aria nodded. "yes. damage done to your human body will affect your dragon body. but come we are wasting time. We need to gather wood."

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ASTRID'S POV

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Astrid looked across the clearing. It hadn't taken them long to find the clearing the trader had told them about. Kneeling down Astrid used her dagger and picked through a small pile of fishbones. "these are fresh. Can't be more than a week old. Something is defiantly living here." Throwing the fishbone back onto the pile Astrid stood up and looked around the clearing again. Off to the edge of the clearing fishlegs spoke. "hey. Hey guys I've got boot prints over here." Rushing over Astrid knelt down next to the prints. " edges are still sharp, can't be more than a few hours old. Person wearing them isn't too large." Following the tracks with her eyes Astrid felt her eyes narrow. She had seen these boot prints before.

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HICCUP'S POV

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Hiccup wiped his forehead of sweat. In front of him he watched as Aria pulled a large log onto the massive pile they had created in the center of the ruins. Watching her step back from the pier Hiccup put his hand on Aria's shoulder. "do you want to light it? Or should I?" Aria shook her head. Her face hard but set. "they were my friends, my family. I'll light it." Hiccup nodded and watched as she stepped forward before bringing her hands together in front of her for a moment before pulling them apart. Lightning arcked from between her palms for a split second, before leaping at the pile of wood and igniting it. Instantly the wood roared as flames engulfed and surged around the wood. Hiccup watched as Aria stepped back, spread her arms out and began to speak. "Bormahdov watch over these souls as they transcend this world and pass into the next." Letting her arms drop Aria turned to Hiccup. "to many died here Hiccup. Malacath spilled so much blood. He MUST pay for his crimes; Against my people and yours." Hiccup nodded. "he will Aria. He will."

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As Aria moved to stand next to him she spoke. "you know I used to be envious of him. the way he could see something only once and understand it. The way he seemed to gain more power without even trying." Hiccup looked at her sideways. "did you know him well?" Aria shrugged. "a bit. In some ways you and he are not that different. You're both smart, good with mechanics, and have the desire to help people. But Malacath…he had a coldness about him. you were worth his time or you weren't. and he made sure you knew if you were or not." Hiccup felt his spine tingle as Aria's fingers wrapped themselves around his own. "I feel….. out of place Hiccup. Everyone I knew is gone, and I haven't aged a day." Hiccup nodded. "for what it's worth you have me."Aria smiled. "yes. that is true."

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ASTRID'S POV

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Trudging along in the dark Astrid couldn't help but feel exposed. Sure they were walking in the woods covered by the tree tops so very far above them. and sure they were not walking directly down the middle of the worn trail. But the torches they were all carrying gave off so much light that she had no doubt they could be seen from miles around. In front of her Gobber spoke. "it's getting cold. We'll need to head back soon. Try again tomorrow." Astrid looked at him. "what about the dragon? Or the nest we found?" Gobber stopped and turned to face her. "lass that nest could be week, maybe even months old. There is no way to know if the tracks we're following now are even fresh. It hasn't rained or been windy for weeks, so these tracks could have been out here; undisturbed for who knows how long."

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HICCUP'S POV

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Something was happening. Hiccup could feel the hair on his arms and the back of his neck beginning to stand on end. Something strange was happening. The pier in front of them was now fully engulfed in flames. The flames had grown and now reached upwards towards the sky. All around them the light flickered and danced casting long shadows over the ground. And yet… Hiccup felt his eyes widen; because across from them. on the other side of the fire he could see…..faces. Ghostly faces that stared out of the darkness, and up at the flames. Next to him Hiccup heard Aria speak. "the spirits of the dead. Unable to accept their deaths they have remained here. Now they can pass through to the next world."

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Hiccup watched as the flames roared up even higher and for a split second he could see them all. Every ghostly face illuminated; there were so many. Men, and women young and old, each one of them staring at the flames, unmoving, their blank eyes staring at the flickering fire. But then the fir died down, taking the light with it and leaving them blanketed in darkness. The ghostly flames vanishing along with the light. Hiccup felt a shiver run down his back as a slight wind picked up around them. it was aria who spoke first. "come on we need to go." Hiccup nodded. The sun was setting fast taking the last rays of light with it.

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ASTRID'S POV

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Astrid was not happy. Not only had they failed to find the dragon. But she had a sneaking suspicion that somehow Hiccup was involved in all this. but she had no way to prove it…..yet. walking along the darkening trail Astrid watched as in front of them Gobber pushed aside a bush. "we'll pick the search back up in the morning."

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HICCUP'S POV

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Making their way down the mountain was not an easy thing to do. And it was made much harder in the dark. the path they were following was not only narrow but was littered with small rocks and steep slopes that to be doing their best to trip them. Several times he jumped as Aria was forced to grab his shoulder or hand to keep from falling. As they came to the bottom of the trail Hiccup turned to make sure Aria was alright. "do you wanna rest for a moment?" Aria nodded and moved off the path and to a small patch of grass. Sitting down on it Hiccup watched as Aria did the same, but Hiccup was forced to look away when she actually sat down. His shirt was long enough to cover Aria's waist when she was walking. But when she sat down the shirt got pulled up slightly exposing certain parts that Hiccup could only imagine Aria would have preferred he not stare at.

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Sitting on the cool grass Hiccup couldn't help but feel as though he were in a bit of a dream. A life time ago it felt like he had been frantically trying to save toothless's life; and now here he was sitting on the grass with her in her human form. Sighing Hiccup looked up and found the night sky looking down at him, it's inky blackness dotted with hundreds of not thousands of stars. Next to his Aria spoke. "they haven't changed much." Hiccup looked at her. "the stars?" Aria nodded. "in my day we were taught that the stars played a small part in how magic worked. See the red-ish orange star?" Hiccup looked up and nodded. "it's called mars. It's named after a god that represented war to some ancient culture. I was taught that when it is out, blood will flow more easily in battle. And see that faint blue one, that's almost invisible?" again Hiccup nodded. "that's Neptune. Depending on how bright it is water magic will be stronger or weaker."

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Hiccup nodded. "see those 3 stars that line up?" Aria nodded. "That's talos's belt. Legend says he was so powerful that when he died the gods lifted him into the stars so that all humans might look upon him and aspire to be so grand." Aria smiled. "It's nice to see something that hasn't changed. I don't feel so out of place now." Hiccup's gaze was drawn from the stars to Aria as he felt her hand come to rest over his. "Thank you Hiccup. Thank you for saving me." Hiccup felt his face flush red as he found that Aria had moved closer and was now sitting next to him. looking down at the ground Hiccup suddenly found his voice wasn't working. All he could think about was Aria, and how she was sitting so close to him…..wearing such little clothing.

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He was so wrapped up in his thought he jumped slightly as he felt her lips lightly press against his cheek. Hiccup felt his face burn. Continuing to look at the ground Hiccup spoke. "so…the oath keepers…how do we find them?" Aria sighed. "Unfortunately the oath keepers are a bit paranoid. Finding them won't be as easy as someone would hope. I won't know where or how to find them until I can see a map and find out exactly where I am." Hiccup looked up and siled. "ok. Well then we should get back to Berk." Standing up Hiccup offered his hand, to Aria who took it and stood up. Turning in the direction of the village Hiccup and Aria headed off.

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UNKNOWN LOCATION

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"they're gaining strength. Should we eliminate them?" "no. they will serve their purpose." "the same was said of Malacath and now he is useless to us." "we will not make the same mistake we did with Malacath. Now go, and make the offer."

* * *

AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 20 IS UP AND DONE. VERY SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG.


	22. WHAT THE?

hey everyone.

hope you're all well.

.

so i'm really sorry to fake you all out with this fake update.

but something has recently come to my attention.

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FF(dot)net is considering deleting all stories with lemons in them.

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to be honest i'm not sure what to think about this.

on one hand i can respect that lemons are beyond what they allow, with their rating system.  
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but on the other hand the ratings system was not very clear.

and they point out that that has been their policy since 2002.

why are they only just complaining about this?

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i also fear this rule will cause the site to lose a lot of it's traffic, and in turn may kill the site.

anyways if they do start deleting stories, then i fear i will quite this site and sign up for a different site.

i will probably join another site but i'm not sure which one yet.

if/when i do though i will send out messages to all the watchers i have left telling you where i'm reposting the stories.

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anyways just wanting to bring this to everyone attention.

not sure if there is a place to complain to the site but it would be great if everyone who reads this could go and comment about this.

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or better yet go here, to this site, and sign the petition.

you'll have to remove the spaces and the brackets for it to work.

www. change . [org] / petitions / fanfiction - net - stop - the - destruction  
- of - fanfiction - net


	23. MY NEW ACCOUNT

hey everyone.

hope you're all well.

.

so i'm really sorry to fake you all out with this second fake update.

but i felt the need to let you all know.

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it has come to my attention that this site plans to go ahead and purge the site of all 'offensive' stories.

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in preparation for this i've created an account on deviantart.  
here is the address of my page.

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gameguy199

[dot]

deviantart

[dot]

com

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please go on and watch me. or whatever it is you can do on deviantart.

i'm still not 100% sure, if my stories will effected by the purge, but if they are then i'll probably stop posting on this site. and only use devaintart.

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for now i'll just post the stories that aren't complete. but i will post the completed ones, later.

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i'm VERY sorry for this second fake update. but i needed to let everyone know.


	24. astrid's threat

HEY EVERYONE. SO HERE IS THE DEAL. THERE HAS BEEN ALL THIS TALK ABOUT PURGING ALL MA STORIES THAT BREAK THEIR RATING RULES. BUT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN WEEKS AGO AND THE STORIES ARE STILL HERE. SO FOR NOW I'M JUST GUNNA KEEP POSTING HERE ON UNTIL THE PURGE DOES START. WHEN THAT DOES HAPPEN THIS PROFILE WILL BE ABANDONED AND I'LL START POSTING ON DEVIANTART. I'VE ALREADY SET UP AN ACCOUNT AND AM SLOWLY TRANSFERING STORIES TO IT. IF YOU WISH TO HAVE THE ADRESS OF MY DEVIANTART ACCOUNT PLEASE MESSAGE ME AND I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU.

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NOW ON WITH THE STORY.

"_they're gaining strength. Should we eliminate them?" "no. they will serve their purpose." "the same was said of Malacath and now he is useless to us." "we will not make the same mistake we did with Malacath. No go, and make the offer."_

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CHAPTER 21

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Hiccup slowed as the sound of footsteps reached his ears. Crouching down so as not to be seen Hiccup peered around the large bush he had been hiding behind. In front of him he could make out the group; their silhouette framed by the torches they were carrying. Hiccup's heart jumped into his throat as he realized he knew the forms, his fellow Vikings and friends from birk. Turning back Hiccup motioned for Aria to stop. "why are we stopping?" hiccup rolled his eyes. "because I can't just walk into birk after vanishing for several hours, and expect everyone to be cool with the fact that there is a girl no one has seen before; following me and the fact that she's only wearing my shirt. How do I explain that?"

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Aria smiled sheepishly. "that would be…difficult to explain." Hiccup nodded and turned back just in time to see his friend's forms vanish into the night. Behind him Aria continued. "however we cannot stay out here for much longer. I can feel a storm beginning to brew." Hiccup groaned. "he to had felt the dampness in the air, and the strange smell that always seemed to accompany a strong electrical storm. In the back of his mind he prayed that there would be no lighting. The last thing they needed was to have a skrill jump of the lightning bolt it was riding and attack them.

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Biting his lip Hiccup did his best to come up with a plan that would allow him to sneak into the village and bring back some clothes for Aria to wear. It would be much easier to explain the situation if she had something proper to wear and not just his shirt. Sadly though no plan seemed to be possible. With the wind picking up in speed and strength Hiccup had no doubt that the farmers were out trying to tether and save the crops, while the herders would be doing their best to round up their livestock. Chewing on his lips Hiccup stood up and flinched slightly as the bones in his back popped. Behind him he could hear Aria shifting nervously; then after a moment she spoke. "Hiccup..." But before Hiccup could even turn to face her he felt Aria collapse forward and land against his back. Spinning around Hiccup grabbed Aria's shoulders to keep her from landing in the dirt. "Aria? Aria!" Hiccup's voice echoed through the woods.

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running his hand against her neck Hiccup mentally went through what he had been taught. She had no fever, she wasn't overly pale, she wasn't shaking or gasping for breath. "Aria? Aria what's wrong?" she didn't respond only hung limply in his arms. "ARIA! Come on, not now!" he could hear more sounds now, movement behind him. drawing the dagger from his belt Hiccup pointed it towards the noise ready to fight off whatever it was making the noise, only to lower the dagger moments later as the form of Gobber, Astrid and the rest of the Vikings in training came into view. "Hiccup? What the hell are you…. Who is that?" Hiccup shook his head. "no time to explain. Gobber you have to help me get her back to the village, she might be sick or injured." It was a mark of how bad the situation was when Gobber didn't argue but instead only nodded. Pulling the pelt from his shoulders Gobber with Hiccup's help managed to wrap Aria in the pent before balancing her between his and Hiccup's shoulders; and heading off in the direction of birk.

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Hiccup couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable as they walked. He could hear the others whispering behind him, and as they passed through the village gates, he could feel the eyes of the villages staring at him as they passed. Moving through the village Hiccup stopped just long enough for Astrid to pull the door open to the main hall before continuing forward and after a bit of effort laying Aria out on one of the large wooden tables that lined the hall. After a moment Gobber spoke. "Astrid fetch the healer. The rest of you go to your houses and wait until this storm passes. Hiccup stay here, we need to talk." As the rest of the group left a Hiccup shifted uncomfortably as Gobber turned to look at him. "Listen closely boy." Hiccup notted that Gobber had called him boy and not by his name. "I trust you. You've never given me a reason not to…well…..not a good reason. But Astrid has brought to light some facts that until now I had not seen before. you've been acting strange, reclusive, some would even say mad. Now I'm not for jumping to conclusions. But you vanish for hours, then show up with a girl, who is unconscious and only wearing your shirt. I have to ask….. is there anything you want to tell me? No let me be more clear. Is there anything I need to know?"

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Hiccup opened his mouth, but closed it again a moment later. What could he say? Could he say that months ago he'd shot down a nightfury, had not only failed to kill it but freed it, befriended it, gone exploring with it, been trapped in a ruin, cut by a jar containing a mixture of dragon and human blood, become the first dragon knight in who knows how long, traveled into the spirit world, done battle with 5 cursed lords, come back, and turned toothless into a human? Gobber would think he was mad. shaking his head Hiccup dropped his eyes to the unconscious Aria's form. "no. there's nothing Gobber." Gobber nodded, but his face showed that he did not believe Hiccup. "it's ok to have a few secrets boy. But some secrets can be dangerous. Don't hold onto secrets that hurt you."

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Again Hiccup opened his mouth; but this time found himself cut off as the large doors to the main hall opened as Astrid returned the village healer walling next to her. Hiccup stepped aside as the healer moved past him and Gobber; and towards Aria who still lay on the table unconscious. Hiccup watched as the healer sat down on one of the benches in front of the table, and reached out to put her hand on Aria's forehead. After a moment she removed her hand and stood up. "she's not sick, or injured; just exhausted. Give her time to rest, and she'll get better. But with the storm coming she cannot stay here, in the main hall but all the other houses are full." "she can stay with me." Everyone's eyes turned to Hiccup; who shrank back slightly. "I found her, she already knows me, and I'm the only one in my house for now. She can stay with me."

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Hiccup watched as the healer studied him for a moment. Beyond her Hiccup could see Astrid glaring at him. after a few moments of silence the healer spoke. "very well. Gobber take the girl to Hiccup's home and put her to bed. Hiccup; come closer so we may talk in private. Astrid go home, and wait out the storm." Stepping aside Hiccup waited until Gobber had scooped up Aria and had walked out of the hall before he neared the healer. As he neared the healer spoke. "Hiccup…..I know not how you came to know this girl, but I can assure you, that when she wakes she may be very frightened and confused. Take good care of her." Hiccup nodded and watched as the healer stood up and walked out of the hall. Following behind her Hiccup stepped out of the hall only to feel two strong sets of hands grab his shoulders, lift him off the ground, and slam him against the wall of the hall.

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A moment later and a fist crashed against his chest knocking the wind out of him. Coughing and gasping for breath Hiccup heard Astrid's voice. "I'm watching you pencil neck. I know you're up to something and I know that girl is in on it." Hiccup growled as he watched Astrid draw her leg back so she could kick him in the stomach. Catching the kick Hiccup growled again and shoved Astrid's food away using a fraction of his dragon strength to shove her foot away. the effect was Astrid's foot flew back so forcefully that Astrid was knocked off balance and fell backwards onto her butt. A moment later Hiccup began to pick himself up off the ground. "don't accuse me of things when you have no proof Astrid. As for Aria….leave her out of this." From her spot on the ground Astrid glared up at him before speaking. "I know you're up to something."

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Turning away Hiccup rolled his eyes. "no you don't." However as he began to walk away Astrid said something that made his blood freeze and his body stop cold in his tracks. "I saw you with the candle." Slowly Hiccup turned back around. Astrid too had picked herself up off the ground and was now smirking at him. "I saw you put your finger into the flame of the candle; and it didn't burn you." Hiccup swallowed; his throat now suddenly dry. "you were in my house?" Astrid smirked even wider. "I saw you. I might not have proof but I know you're up to something. And when I find out I'll tell everyone. And then what will they think?" Hiccup took an aggressive step forward. "you don't know what you're talking about." Astrid chuckled. "yes I do." Hiccup opened his mouth; perfectly ready to start shouting at Astrid. But he found himself cut off as a massive clap of thunder sounded directly above them. the clap was so strong that it seemed to shake the ground under their feet.

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Hicup gave Astrid one last glare before turning away and stomping off towards his home. As he left he could hear Astrid shouting at him. "I WILL FIND OUT WHAT YOU'RE UP TO! THEN EVERYONE WILL SEE YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A LIAR AND A FAKE!" Hiccup felt his blood boil. Yes he may have been a liar, but if Astrid had any idea of what he had gone through to get here he had no doubt she wouldn't be so cock. Slamming the door behind him Hiccup paused as he stood in the front room of his hut. Moving through the hut Hiccup soon found Aria; Gobber had placed her in his father' bed. Sighing Hiccup made sure the blankets were covering Aria before dropping into one of the small chairs in the main room. Allowing his head to roll back Hiccup sighed again. He couldn't even describe how good it felt to sit down and catch his breath.

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So much had happened to him. so much had change in such a short time. He'd gone from being a skinny little wanna-be Viking, to being a dragon knight who was fighting curse lords and… Hiccup groaned as he sat back up, kicking out at a small rag Hiccup watched as the cloth sailed through the air before falling back down to the ground. When had it all become so complicated? At what point had he gone from being a simple child to someone who was supposed to fight evil? Sighing again Hiccup closed his eyes and willed himself to relax. There was nothing he could do now. Aria was asleep and If the wind outside was any indication the storm that was coming was going to be a big one. leaning back Hiccup allowed himself to drift off, into his first deep sleep in months.

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AN: WELL FOLKS. IT'S CURRENTLY…..1 IN THE MORNING WHERE I'M AT, I'M FIGHTING A VERY BAD COLD, AND 2 OF MY COMPUTER'S USB PORTS HAVE CRAPPED OUT ON ME. BUT IT WAS STILL FUN TO WRITE IN THIS STORY AGAIN.

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PLEASE LEAVE LOTS OF REVIEWS AND COMMENTS. TRUST ME I NEED THEM ALL.

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*HUG* THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME THROUGH ALL THIS.


	25. i want you to look

_So much had happened to him. so much had change in such a short time. He'd gone from being a skinny little wanna-be Viking, to being a dragon knight who was fighting curse lords and… Hiccup groaned as he sat back up, kicking out at a small rag Hiccup watched as the cloth sailed through the air before falling back down to the ground. When had it all become so complicated? At what point had he gone from being a simple child to someone who was supposed to fight evil? Sighing again Hiccup closed his eyes and willed himself to relax. There was nothing he could do now. Aria was asleep and If the wind outside was any indication the storm that was coming was going to be a big one. leaning back Hiccup allowed himself to drift off, into his first deep sleep in months._

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CHAPTER 22

ARIA'S POV

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Slowly Aria began to move. Opening her eyes she found that she was in a hut, outside she could hear thunder and lightning. Slowly sitting up Aria shivered as the blankets that covered he fell away. she was still only wearing Hiccup's shirt. Leaving the bed Aria stopped as another flash of lightning made the hair of the back of her neck stand on end. She could feel it, the tingling along her skin, someone was using magic. As another bolt of lightning forked across the sky Aria's eyes widened. the magic pulsed with the lightning, someone was using magic to control and power the storm.

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Leaving the room she was in, Aria made her way down a small ladder and found herself in a medium sized main room. To her right in a little alcove she could make out a small area where dried meats, fruits and vegetables hung. While to her left a doorway was blocked by a sheet on a rod. She had been about to go through the covered doorway when a loud snore grabbed her attention. Kneeling down Aria smiled as she found Hiccup asleep in one of the chair that surrounded a firepit in the middle of the room. Kneeling down Aria leaned in so she could look at Hiccup more closely.

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He really wasn't bad looking. Yes her dragon mind had found him attractive and now that she had her human body back…Aria shook her head. No, they had bigger things to worry about instead of her…physical wants. Sighing Aria's eyes slowly moved over Hiccup's face and body. while he did not have bulging muscles like most men from her time, but when she touched his skin Aria could feel the muscles under his skin. Shaking her head again Aria forced herself to look away from Hiccup's sleeping form and instead turn towards the covered doorway she had been about to go in before. pushing the curtain aside Aria smiled as she found herself in Hiccup's room. Off In the corner a hammock hung from the walls. The majority of the room's main wall was covered in diagrams and maps. Moving closer to the wall Aria located the map with the largest range of land covered.

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Eyeing the map Aria found the village of birk and then began to scan the map for a location or a landmark she would recognize. Aria's eyes went wide. She was at the very northern edge of the continent, in what looked to be the jarl mountain range. Touching the map with her finger Aria began to trace a trail that in her time had been called the river of dawn. Following the trail Aria's finger came to a stop over a nearby settlement; one that had regrettably existed even in her time 'cinderhall' biting her lip Aria began to think. She had no love for cinderhall; in fact she found the very thought of the settlement horrific. Even in her time it had been a blight on the country. That being said back in her time the Oathkeepers had maintained a small embassy not far from the city.

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If they could get there they could meet up with the Oathkeepers and hopefully begin to put things right. Nodding her heads Aria began pouring over the other things hung up on the wall. Some of them were blueprints; design for mechanical gadgets. Others were simple drawing, aria smiled as her eyes fell on one Hiccup had done of her dragon form. Looking around the wall Aria felt the smile drop from her face slightly. There seemed to be no drawing of his family. Nothing of his father or mother. Turning to the rest of the room Aria smiled as she found several shelves full of mechanical parts, or small models of larger machines.

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But a bolt of lightning flashing past the window made her look up; at her reflection in the glass. she looked gaunt; as though she hadn't slept in years. Sighing Aria made her way back into the main room of the house and sat down. Closing her eyes Aria allowed her mind to stretch outwards, over the village and the surrounding mountains. She could feel it. The source of the storm magic, strong, pulses. Brushing the magic with her mind Aria let out a low gasp as she felt the magic touch her back. She could feel it. The violence of the storm, it had started out as a small storm, a few clouds, maybe even a little rain. But the magic had changed that, the magic had warped and perverted the storm; made it stronger and more powerful despite what the storm had wanted.

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Opening her eyes aria stood up and made her way to another window. Focusing magic into her eyes Aria watched as the landscape jumped forward, zooming in and allowing her to see the mountains off in the distance as though they were directly in front of her. But even with her magic she could barely see anything. Only a faint outline of a person; but whether man, women, shade, or anything else she could not tell. Releasing the magic Aria turned as Hiccup began to move. Moving across the room Aria knelt down so she was next to Hiccup. She watched as slowly his eyes opened and he blinked a few times before smiling at her. "so it wasn't a dream?" Aria shook her head. "no. it's real." Hiccup smiled and shifted so he could stretch.

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He watched as Aria turned towards the window as another bolt of lightning lit up the night sky. As Aria turned Hiccup felt his face flush as he realized she was still only wearing his shirt. Looking away Hiccup spoke. "Aria….would you like some different clothes?" for a moment Aria didn't respond. Hiccup flinched as he felt a set of hands touch the sides of his face. A moment later his head was being turned; he felt his face flush even deeper as he found Aria had turned his head so he was now looking at her. She had leaned forward to grip his head and the way she had turned it was giving Hiccup a rather…unrestricted view of her breasts, and chest.

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Trying to look away Hiccup closed his eyes in embarrassment as Aria spoke. "Hiccup….did it ever occur to you that I want you to see me like this?" Hiccup shook his head. To be honest he'd been to busy trying to process what had happened to him in the last 24 hours. However his eyes flew open again as he felt Aria's hands leave his face and instead wind their way around his own. Hiccup swallowed nervously, as he felt Aria move his hands so they were resting on her naked hips. "Hiccup….I just spent who knows how long as a dragon. They don't feel things like we do. They register the feelings but they don't…..feel it. Feeling your skin against mine…you can't imagine how good it feels." Hiccup moved to let go of Aria's hips only to feel Aria's grip tighten; as she continued speaking.

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"Besides I remember what you said before… you love me." Hiccup's face went even redder if it was possible. It was true he had said that, and he did mean it…..but it was strange to hear someone else remind him about it. "And I meant what I said to you Hiccup. I love you." That made Hiccup look up at her. For the first time since meeting Aria, Hiccup found himself really looking at her. she was probably as tall as he was, her body was slim but not skinny. Her face was smooth the skin a light brown color similar to those who worked out in the farm fields all day. Her hair was shoulder length, and jet black. And her eyes were a dark green that reminded Hiccup of pine trees. Aria opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted when another bolt of lightning split through the sky. But Hiccup was barely paying attention. His eyes we caught by Aria's which were staring into his with such intensity Hiccup wondered if she might be casting some kind of spell.

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For a long moment neither of them spoke, they just stared at each other. And then slowly…Hiccup felt his body move on its own; slowly leaning forward, mimicking Aria who was doing the same. Hiccup's heart was in his throat and he was sure that at any moment something would happen and they would break apart…..then he felt their lips touch. Hiccup's eyes slowly closed as his rough lips pressed against Aria's soft lips. The kiss was gentle, all be it a little unskilled. They stayed this was just long enough for Hiccup to feel his lungs beginning to burn. Breaking apart Hiccup could feel his face burning as he looked down at the floor. "sorry." He was sure why he was apologizing, but somehow it felt like the right thing to do. But his words were cut off as Aria spoke, while at the same time shifting his hands up her hips so they now rested against her back.

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"Hiccup, there is no need to be sorry. I want this. I want you. I won't push you, but…..I'll never get mad at you for looking at me or my body." Hiccup felt Aria's hands leave his own and go back to cupping his face; tilting it upwards so he was looking up into Aria's face. "I want you to look at me." Again Hiccup felt his face heat up again as his mind wrapped around what she was saying. "Aria….I…" but Aria spoke over him. "it's ok Hiccup. I understand all this is happening a bit fast." Hiccup rolled his eyes. a little fast? "but I just want you to know; that if you need to talk….or need to release some stress, I'm here. I'll help you. Ok?" Hiccup nodded, his face felt like it was on fire. But his embarrassment was cut short as a massive clap of lightning arcked through the sky. A moment later a blast of thunder shook the air; the blast was so loud that it shook the house they were in.

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DRAGON ISLAND

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Malacath shuddered as he felt the wave rush over him. he could feel it, the magic…the power…it had shifted. There was a new force in the world. Closing his eyes Malacath allowed his mind to calm. As he did so his body began to change, shrinking until it was no longer that of a dragon but that of his old body. "**so it begins.**" "do not be so hasty. Or have you forgotten what happened last time?" Malacath turned towards the source of the voice. His gaze met a man. The man was glad head to toe in rough jagged armor; while his face was obscured by a crimson hood. "**no, crimson lord I have not forgotten. How can I? it was only with your magic that I was able to return to my human form.**" The crimson lord shook his unseen head. "not your form. Malacath's form. And you are not complete, for you do not have the former affinities Malacath had." Malacath glared at the crimson lord. "**I am Malacath. There is not a spell he knew that that I don't know how to cast.**" The crimson lord chuckled. "you can cast them only through raw power. Not through affinity. Do not rush into battle with this new force."Malacath nodded.

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"**what would you have me do then? Nothing?**" the crimson lord shook his head. "no. even now my spell traps the force. As for what we will do; Xeziner…" in response to his words the shadows writhed and warped, and slowly rose from the floor into the rough shape of the upper part of a human. "_what is your biding master?"_ "go the village. Find this new force, convert it if possible." "_and if no conversion is possible?_" "then kill it."

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AN) WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 22 IS UP AND DONE.

HOPE EVERYONE LIKED IT.

SO I HOPE EVERYONE LIKES HOW I PORTRAYED ARIA. THIS ISN'T HOW SHE'LL BE THE WHOLE TIME. BUT IT FELT NICE TO WRITE HER A BIT.

AND MALACATH ISN'T AS WEAK AS THEY ALL THOUGHT. AND WHO IS THE CRIMSON LORD?

AND JUST WHAT IS XEZINER GOING TO DO?

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NOT SURE HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE CABLE/SATELITE, BUT I RECENTLY SAW A COMMERSIAL ON CARTOON NETWORK ADVERTISING THE NEW CARTTON 'DRAGONS, THE RIDERS OF BERK.' THERE WILL BE A SPECAIL 1 HOUR SNEAK PEEK EPISODE ON AUGUST 7TH AT 7;30. BE SURE TO CHEK YOUR LOCAL LISTING TO FIND OUT WHAT TIME IT'S ON NEAR YOU.

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ALSO WE ARE RAPIDLY REACHING THE END OF THIS STORY. THAT'S NOT TO SAY THERE WONT BE MORE. BUT THIS STORY IS COMING TO AN END, AND I'M WORKING ON THE NEXT PHASE.

HOPE TO GET LOTS OF COMMENTS AND REVIEWS.

*hug*


	26. the coming storm

"_**what would you have me do then? Nothing?**__" the crimson lord shook his head. "no. even now my spell traps the force. As for what we will do; Xeziner…" in response to his words the shadows writhed and warped, and slowly rose from the floor into the rough shape of the upper part of a human. "what is your biding master?" "go the village. Find this new force, convert it if possible." "and if no conversion is possible?" "then kill it." _

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CHAPTER 23

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Hiccup watched as outside the storm continued to rage on. Aria had said the storm was being powered by magic. And that would certainly explain why this storm was so powerful. Sighing Hiccup looked up as Aria stepped out of his room; now dressed in some of his older clothing. Smiling Hiccup spoke. "so what now? The storm is still raging, and we can't leave until it goes away. and if magic is powering the storm then it could last for a while. " Aria nodded. "yes. but storm magic can't make a storm last longer, it can only use the power that the storm already had. If anything the storm will end sooner because it's using more of its power, so it can be this powerful." Hiccup nodded. "ok, I think I understand. So it's like a burning candle. If it burns brighter then it won't burn for as long, because it's using more of its fuel." Aria nodded too. "yes. magic can't rewrite the rules of the universe, it can only tweak them." Hiccup nodded again.

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"ok, but what do we do now?" Aria shrugged. "well, I need to do some meditation. There is a ton of electrical energy around me, I'd be foolish not to try and absorb some of it." Hiccup cocked his head at her. "ok, that you'll have to explain to me." Aria smiled, and sat down on the floor. Crossing her legs Aria set he hands on the floor before speaking. "there are 2 kinds of magic. Natural magic, and forced magic. Right now there is a lightning storm outside, That means there is a ton of electrical energy moving through the air. By opening my body to this energy, I'll absorb a bit of its power. That was when I use electrical magic my body will have some already stored away; and I won't have to use so much of my own energy. When you use magic to effect the air, or water, or the earth, you're not the one actually do it. Your body sends out it's own form of energy and that energy interacts with the world and produces the effect you want."

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Aria broke off as another bolt of lightning split the sky. Hiccup shivered as he felt he hairs on his arms stand on end. "by absorbing some of natures energies I can cast spells with more power than normal because I already have some of its power. So my energy will react with it sooner. Understand?" Hiccup nodded slowly. "I think so…..maybe?" Aria chuckled. "don't worry. Most people don't know the fine points of how magic works. And that's not a bad thing. Just know that your body can only produce so much magic. Once you deplete that limit, you will have to rest until it builds back up." Hiccup sat down in a chair. "and how long would that take?" Aria shrugged. "Depends on the person, some regenerate magic very quickly, others it can take some time. I'm curious though, what affinity did you choose in the overworld, lightning or wood?" Hiccup smiled, "I chose wood. It seemed more versatile." Aria smiled. "wood is a tricky element to use. Even in my time not many could use it to it's fullest." Again Hiccup cocked his head.

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"why was that?" Aria shook her head. "I don't know exactly. Something about wood being truly alive and having a mind of its own." Hiccup nodded. "that's what the guy from the overworld was saying. It's the only living element." Aria shrugged again. "I don't know about that. But enough, I need to focus on absorbing magic." Hiccup fell silent as he watch Aria focus. But after several minutes Aria opened her eyes again. "it's no use. Whoever is using the storm magic is reabsorbing all of the storm's lost energy. There's not enough for me to absorb." Sighing Aria looked at Hiccup would tossed a few twigs on the fire. "so…..how are you holding up to all this?" Hiccup looked at Aria. "what?" Aria shrugged. "when new members of the dragon knights were brought in most of them were having trouble understanding and even coping with what was happening to them. and that was with the help of teachers and scholars. But you don't have any of that. So…..how are you holding up?"

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Hiccup tossed another twig onto the fire before staring into the flaming cauldron. "how am I supposed to act?" Aria shook her head. "I don't understand." Hiccup sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I have all these powers, but I have no idea how to use them. but there is no point being sad or mad about it. I've got them, now I need to learn how to use them." Aria smiled and stood up. Channeling her magic Aria made a grand sweeping motion with one of her hand. At once all the furniture except the fire pit, rose a few inches off the ground and pushed itself against the walls, clearing a large space in the middle of the room. "stand up Hiccup. I'm going to give you a lesson." Doing as he was told Hiccup watched as Aria closed her eyes for a moment. Bandages seemed to appear out of nowhere, and began wrapping up Aria's arms and legs, while at the same time, a skintight leather chestplate seemed to be growing over Aria's chest. The final bit was a set of bandages wrapping around Aria's face and mouth leaving only small holes for her eyes, and mouth.

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"the armor you earned in the overworld is still with you. It can't be taken away. but while you're here in the physical world you'll need to summon it. To do this; just recreate the armor in your mind. It helps if you close your eyes." doing as he was instructed Hiccup recreated the armor he had worn before. instantly his skin began to itch and burn. Opening his eyes Hiccup watched as his skin warped and grew, as the armor he had worn simply 'grew' out from his body. looking up Hiccup watched as Aria pulled to small daggers from her belt. In her right hand the dagger, was simple, but with a curved kind of hook at the end of both of hilt and the blade. While in her left hand the dagger had a wavy kind of blade that almost resembled the flow of a river. "now Hiccup. If you're going to be a dragon knight you'll need to know how to switch from blade, to magic, and then back to blade seamlessly. Are you ready?" Hiccup nodded and raised his sword arm. a moment later his sword and shield materialized from thin air. Narrowing his eyes Hiccup watched as Aria lunged at him, her draggers drawn.

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BERK'S EASTERN WATCHTOWER

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Eric sighed as another bolt of lightning split the sky. How had he drawn this crappy job? While everyone else was safe and warm in their houses. He was stuck here, alone in the eastern watchtower. And for what? Who would be stupid enough to be out in this storm?! sighing gain eric tossed some more dried leaves on the fire he'd managed to start. At least the fire was warm. He had been about to look in a nearby cupboard for some dried fruit when a noise made his grab his sword. "hello?" holding the sword with both hands Eric reached down and after a moment lit his torch. "is someone there?" stepping away from the fire Eric moved towards a doorway that led to a hallway that led through the town wall and out into the town. "who's there?" Eric felt his eyes widen as a women's voice spoke from behind him. "I'm here." Spinning around Eric felt his eyes widen even more at the sight in front of him.

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A gourgous women stood in front of him. her pale skin illuminated by the fire; her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes were a deep deep green. But he was to busy to notice that. He was to busy looking at her body, for she wore not a single article of clothing. After a moment of gawking Eric managed to speak. "miss…what are you doing here?" the women took a step forward. "I was looking for you." Eric took a step backwards. Despite everything the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. "and why were you looking for me?" the women took another step forward. As she did so she moved her hands and gave her breasts a squeeze. "because I need your help, brave and noble guard." Eric took another step backwards. 'need my help with what?" the women stopped moving. "I need your body.

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Before Eric could even comprehend what the women had said she lunged at him. no lunged was not the right word, the women flew towards him, grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the stone wall behind him. Eric tried to shout but the women's hand was pressing so firmly against he throat that he could barely draw breath. He felt the women's other hand grab his sword and force it from his hand. A second later that same hand crashed into his stomach making him cough as the wind was knocked from him. but the coughing soon turned to gagging as the women forced her hand into his mouth and held it so that he could not close the bottom of his jaw.

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Eric watched horrified as the women's sides seem to shudder. His blood was ice cold as he watched the women's eyes turn jet black. He finally did manage to scream as black smoke began to billow from the women's mouth and force it ways into his own mouth. It was like drinking ice shards that sliced at every part of his innards. His head felt like it was in a fog and he was barely even aware that the women had let him go and had collapsed on the ground in front of him. planting his back against the wall Eric slid down it until he was in a sitting possession. Opening his eyes Eric looked down into a small puddle of rainwater. His eyes had changed; they had gone from brown, to jet black. In front of him h heard the women move. Grabing her by her shoulder Eric lifted her off the ground and held her in the air. "your use fullness is up wench. Be gone." Letting her drop to the ground Eric laughed as he watched the women stumble and run away from him in fear. If she had been smart she would have tried to get some clothing before heading out into the storm. If the storm didn't kill her the wilds certainly would.

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Turning around Eric looked out one of the windows in the tower that overlooked the town. He had work to do.

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HICCUP'S POV

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The storm was beginning to let up hiccup could make out patches of the night sky; between the rapidly fading storm clouds. Next to him Aria yawned. "it's late. I think that's enough practice for today." Waving her hand again Aria put all the furniture back where it had been. "we should rest." Hiccup nodded. "why don't you take my room. I can sleep in dad's bed tonight. Aria smiled. "thank you. Goodnight." Hiccup watched as Aria climbed the ladder before vanishing behind the curtain to his room. Sighing Hiccup extinguished the fire before making his way into his father's room, and climbing into his bed. Burying himself in the blankets Hiccup, closed his eyes; only to open them again as he felt someone pull the covers off of him. Aria's voice spoke from the darkness, as Hiccup felt the bed sink slightly lower. "I don't wanna be alone tonight. For the first time in a long time I'm with someone I care about. I don't wanna be alone." Hiccup bit his lip but nonetheless still wrapped his arms around Aria's waist as he felt her back press against his chest.

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"Good night Aria." "Goodnight Hiccup."

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AN: WELL FOLKS, CHA[TER 23 IS UP AND DONE. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE FINALL CHAPTER FOR 'A DRAGON GLYPH.'

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THEN YOU'LL ALL HAVE TO WAIT WHILE I START UP THE NEXT STORY WHICH WILL BE CALLED 'A DRAGONS OATH'

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HOPE TO GET AT LEAST A FEW REVIEWS ON THIS.


	27. execution and exorcisms

"_Good night Aria." "Goodnight Hiccup."_

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CHAPTER 24

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He was looking at a standoff. All around him fog billowed around those in front of him. he watched as a man about as tall as he was, with black hair, and red eyes step forward. "I'll give you one last chance. Give up, and I'll let you all leave." A moment later another boy stepped forward, Hiccup felt his eyes widen, the boy was him. "not until I have Aria." The other boy laughed. "such devotion to her. it makes me wanna throw up. You're hopelessly outnumbered here." The other Hiccup grinned. "we'll see. You have your army. I have mine." Hiccup felt his eyes drift towards the others who stood behind the other him, and the other boy. Behind the second Hiccup stood what looked like a kind of sailor; Hiccup could just make out the cutlass sword strapped to his hip. Next to the sailor, a girl clad in full platemail armor, the emblem of a flaming eye in the center of her chest piece. Next to her a man who wore strange clothing covered in bells, while over his face a mask that was split so one half was a smiling face and the other was a crying face. next to him, a women who wore only a length of cloth around her breasts, and hips. And finally a knight clad from head to toe in glistening white armor.

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Behind the other boy was a man who wore jagged black armor, his face covered by a crimson hood. Next to him, another man glad in armor that looked to be made of human bones. Next to him a women, her skin so pale it would have easily been snow, and yet as Hiccup's eyes glanced over her face he found that her skin was cracked like broken glass. And next to her a creature with no eyes, and skin of a sickly grey color. And behind both groups even more people stood, their bodies covered in fog making Hiccup unable to see who the people were. "**Hiccup.**" The fog was fading now. Even as he stood there it was billowing inwards obscuring everything from view. "**HICCUP!**"

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REALITY

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Hiccup's head was pounding. It took all the strength he had to open his eyes. when he did he did not find himself in his house, or in his dad's bed with Aria sleeping against his chest. He found his wrists were bound in chain, forcing them away from his body. the light around him was dim, and Hiccup could feel Goosebumps on his skin from the damp. This time when someone called his name Hiccup found that the voice echoed slightly. "who's there…." After a moment he felt someone touch his shoulder. "it's me boy, it's me." A moment later Hiccup felt someone wipe his face with a wet cloth. The blur in his vision cleared, and he found himself staring at his father's concerned face. "Hiccup…are you?" Hiccup groaned and he tugged at the chains that bound his wrists. "dad? What's going on?" Hiccup shook his head as his dad tried to dap his forehead with a cold cloth. "DAD. WHAT IS GOING ON?" Hiccup's dad was silent for a moment before speaking.

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"shhhhh. Hiccup it's ok. The witch won't bother you anymore. They're executing her as we speak. You're safe now." Hiccup's eyes flew open. "Aria! Dad you have to stop them! she's not evil!" Hiccup's dad shook his head and again tried to dab at Hiccup's forehead with the wet cloth. "hush Hiccup. She's can't hurt you now." "NO! DAD!" Hiccup strained against the chains binding his wrists. They couldn't kill her, he needed her. Hiccup watched as his dad took a step backwards. "Hiccup? What ar-?" but his dad was cut off by the loud sound of metal bending. "DAD YOU HAVE TO STOP THEM! YOU HAVE TO-" more noise filled the room as the links of chain began to bend and warp from Hiccup's strength. Giving one final Hiccup pulled his arms inward towards his chest. Instantly the chains binding him tore, and bent.

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Dropping to one knee Hiccup allowed himself a single breath before standing up and pushing his way past his dad. He began to run. Racing through the damp corridors Hiccup began to panic. He had t move faster. Her was out now, running past the guards who guarded the dungeons. Pushing past them as they tried to stop him. he knew where they would be. Racing to the center of the village Hiccup felt his heart drop as he found a large group of people cheering. But his heart soared as he found that he could still see aria. She was on her knees her head literally on the chopping block. He'd never make it through the crowd in time, even as he was running he could see the headman's axe being lifted into the air.

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He jumped, using his dragon strength Hiccup pushed off the ground and hurtled over the crowd. Landing on the central platform, Hiccup lunged forward and grabbed the headman's wrists. Spinning around Hiccup again used his strength to bury the head of the headman's axe, in the floor of the wooden platform. Letting go of the axe handle Hiccup spun back around and punched the headman knocking him out instantly. Even as the man fell to the ground Hiccup pulled the man's dagger from his belt, bent down and pulled Aria to her feet. A moment later Hiccup sliced through the ropes binding her arms to her sides. Hiccup kept the dagger up but staggered slightly as Aria pulled him into a hug. "thank you." He could feel her trembling as she clung to him.

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But their little moment came to an end as a voice from the crowd shouted at them. "SHE'S BEWITCHED HIM!" Hiccup shook his head and shouted back. "no! she's not a witch! She's-" but the crowd wouldn't not listen. Many of them were shouting over him, calling for him to be separated and for Aria to be executed. Even though she still clung to him Aria spoke. "Hiccup…..they won't listen. There's a shade among them. it's twisting their emotions and feeding off their fear. It could be anybody." Hiccup bit his lip. "who was it that first accused Aria of being a witch?! Step forward!" as the echo of what he said died down a man step forward from the crowd. Although Hiccup didn't know the man personally; he did recognize him from seeing him around the village. "I did. I saw her out in the storm. An when we went out this morning there was a dead body. right where I'd seen her."

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Hiccup looked to Aria who shook her head. "that was probably the shade's old body. it would have needed to jump into a new one. and when it did the old body was weakened and afraid. Once it stepped out into the storm it was as good as dead." Hiccup nodded. "is there any way to figure out which person the shade is in?" Aria was silent for a moment; then. "yes. shades have a bred in hatred for anything related to the overworld. They view it as a cruel kind of taunt. Like teasing a starving man with food. Conjure your armor; and watch the crowd. One of them will react with anger. When they do point them out to me." Hiccup nodded, but was forced to turn back to the crowd as a set of guards began to march of the small stairs to the platform.

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Letting go of Aria Hiccup took a step towards the stairway. Even as he moved he could feel his skin itching and burning as his armor grew out of his body. several things happened at once. The majority of the crowd that had gathered seemed to shrink back out of fear. Several of the watchers outright ran, as though he were brandishing a weapon at them. the guards that had been coming up the stairway stopped dead in the tracks, both their eyes wide with fear, and uncertainty. But Hiccup's eyes fell on that of the guard who had stepped forward and accused Aria of being a witch. For a split second Hiccup cold see the guard's mouth was curled into a snarl, while his hand angrily clenched and unclenched. "Aria! It's the guard from before! the one who accused you!"

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Hiccup heard Aria move behind him and turned just in time to see Aria thrust her hands out in front of her as though pushing something away. words that Hiccup's couldn't quite hear of make out flew from Aria's mouth and Hiccup was forced to look away from her as a kind of blinding light erupted from her hands and lashed out at the guard who was instantly blocked from view by the pillar of light. For a split second and guard vanished, and only the pillar of light was visible. But then the light dimmed and Hiccup found that he could see the guard still inside the pillar. He watched horrified as the guard's body writhed and twisted like a dying snake. Smoke billowed out from his mouth and eyes, and Hiccup could hear the guard screaming in terror and pain. but he was forced to wrench his eyes away from the sight as he heard Aria's knees hit the ground. The pillar of light lasted only another moment before vanishing.

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For a single moment the smoke remained; as though frozen in place. Then it began to move billowing back into the guard who continued to writhe before straightening up. As he did so he began to laugh. But it was not a normal laugh, no this laugh was cold, unfeeling and sent chills of Hiccup's spine. As the man laughed Hiccup could see darkness beginning to swirl around him. "**very good. Very good. Too bad you're still too weak to excise me. But it was a pretty shit plan. After all you're not an exorcist." **Aria coughed from her spot on the ground before speaking. "what's your name?" the man laughed again. "Eric." Aria shook her head. "no. what is YOUR name?" the man grinned. Hiccup felt another shiver run up his spine. Something about the smile was unnatural. "**Xenizer. And I'm here to make you an offer.**" Hiccup shook his head. "we don't want it." The man laughed as darkness surrounded his body. "**i knew you would reject it. And I'm so glad you did because now….I GET TO KILL YOU!**"

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Instantly the darkness swirled while the man throughout his hand, as though to grab Hiccup. The darkness stretched and Hiccup was forced to jump off the execution platform, of be crushed. Conjuring up his sword and shield Hiccup put the shield up in front of him as another cloud of darkness launched itself at him. as the darkness hit his shield Hiccup expected it to break apart like a cloud; it did not. The darkness slammed into him like a raging animal, even with his feet braced for an impact Hiccup felt himself being pushed back by the force of the darkness. But a second later the darkness vanished. Peering around his shield Hiccup watched as the shade was forced to duck as Aria swung at him with her twin daggers. Charging forward Hiccup moved so he could stab at the shade, but Aria's words stopped him in his tracks. "DON'T KILL HIM! IF YOU DO THE SHADE WILL JUST JUMP INTO ANOTHER BODY!"

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But Hiccup's moment of hesitation was all the shade needed, a massive column of darkness slammed into Hiccup's chest, sending him hurting backwards, crashing through the execution platform and skidding along the ground for another few feet before coming to a stop face down in the dust. Hiccup groaned as he picked himself up off the ground. From that one attack every bone and muscle in his body felt like it it had been trampled. In less than a heartbeat Aria was next to him, helping him up. "if you can distract him I can work on a exorcism ritual." Hiccup nodded. "what do I need to do?" "keep him busy enough so he wont notice me. If need be keep him talking shades love to brag about how powerful they are. Ok?" Hiccup nodded and readied himself.

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Across from them Aria and Hiccup watched as the shade spread his arms. Darkness swirled around him before launching itself out at them like the tentacle of an angry octopus. Bring his shield up Hiccup stepped forward as the darkness crashed into him. and unlike before he was not thrown backwards. Hiccup felt Aria leave his side, as the darkness retracted. But as he brought his shield down he found why the darkness had gone. The shade had moved and was no longer away from them and now stood inches from him. stabbing with his sword Hiccup aimed or the shades arm. big mistake; the shade not only dodged the attack but grabbed Hiccup's arm. it was like plunging into ice cold water. Hiccup's arm felt like it was being frozen solid. the shade bent his arm downwards forcing Hiccup to bend down or risk breaking his arm. as Hiccup winced in pain the shade spoke. "**how is it you human's have survived this long? You're pathetic, fragile, and so easily manipulated.**" Hiccup bit his lip in pain as he lashed out.

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Throwing his body forward Hiccup used his dragon strength, to knock the shade off balance and onto the ground. Drawing his fist back Hiccup slammed his fist down into the dirt where the shade's head had been moments before. even as the ground cracked and buckled the shade was moving, summoning his darkness and using it to lift Hiccup off the ground and toss him like a pebble through the air, and into a nearby hut crashing through the wall and onto the floor. But before he'd even managed to get up Hiccup felt someone grab the lip of armor near his neck. A second later Hiccup again found himself airborne, before crashing through the roof of the hut and back into the town square. Hitting the ground Hiccup didn't even get a change to cry out in pain as he felt an ice cold tendril of darkness wrap itself around his leg and lift him off the ground again. Bracing himself Hiccup only had time to bring his arms up to protect his chest as he slammed into what was left of the execution platform; reducing it to splinters.

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From far away he could hear the shade laughing. "**YOU'RE THE NEW FORCE MY MASTER SPOKE OF?! YOU'RE NOTHING! YOU'RE PATHETIC! KILLING YOU WOULD BE A MERCY KILLING!**" growling Hiccup pulled himself to his feet. His body ached and he could feel several splinters dig into his skin as he stood up and readied himself. Charging forward Hiccup swung at the hade who ducked the attack, only to side step the next attack, before grabbing Hiccup's wrist and hitting him with a punch that knocked the wind out of him. gasping for air Hiccup felt the shade kick his feet out from under him; making him crash to the ground in a heap of armor and flesh. A moment later Hiccup felt a shudder run through his body as his armor vanished. "**oh look, the little mortal's, armor is gone. Should I wait while you reconjure it?" **a second later Hiccup gasped and cried out as the shade kicked his chest sending a blast of ice cold air through him; that seemed to chill every fiber of his body.

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Coughing Hiccup felt warm blood drip from his mouth. But he couldn't focus on that as he felt the shades breath on the back of his neck. "**you're probably wondering why you can fight like you did in the overworld.**" Hiccup let out another gasp as the shade rolled him onto his back before, slamming his foot down on his stomach. Less than a second later Hiccup was forced to roll to his side as thick, yellow bile erupted from his mouth. Coughing, gasping, and spitting up the bile, Hiccup heard the shade continue. "**the overworld bring out a person's best traits. In your case your warrior spirit. This translated to a kind of…understanding of battle. In the overworld you can fight as well as some of the master's because your spirit is as strong as theirs. But here….. in the corporeal world you're limited to what you know. And in your case, that's nothing.**" Hiccup coughed and tried to climb to his knees, only to have the shade grab him by the scruff of the neck and toss him straight up into the air.

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Waving his arms, Hiccup felt someone grab his hand. Seconds later his feet hit the ground as he found Aria supporting him. "you're done Hiccup. Rest, I've got this." Hiccup coughed and nodded as Aria set him down on the ground. Hiccup watched as Aria pulled out her daggers and spun one around her finger before lunging forward. The slash from the dagger came so fast that even from his spot 20 feet away Hiccup could hear the blade whistle. The shade ducked the attack but stagger as Aria struck out with her leg; hitting the shade in the chest and knocking him off balance. Using that moment Aria spun around and buried her dagger through the shade's foot nailing him to the ground. Even as the shade screamed in pain Aria grabbed his face. "look where your standing shade. Notice anything about it?"

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Even from where he sat hiccup could see the shade's face drain of color. "**a transcendent circle." **Aria nodded. "That's right. Can you guess what happens next?" the shade never got the chance to respond. Aria's hands began to glow and whatever words the shade had said became panicked screams as smoke began to come from the spot's Aria was touching. For a moment hiccup felt like his heart stopped. Then all at once smoke billowed from the man's mouth, eyes, and nose. Hiccup watched as the cloud of smoke writhed and swirled, like an angry storm. As the last of the smoke left the man's body; the man collapsed. Hiccup couldn't tell if he was alive or dead. Meanwhile the smoke writhed and twisted into a vaguely human form. This time when the shade spoke it was in a much deeper voice and demonic voice.

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"**you can't win human. You may kill me but my master knows about you. He'll never stop hunting you.**" Aria chuckled. "you're right about one thing." Hiccup watched as aria brought her hands up in front of her. lighting began to ark between her fingers, a heartbeat later, a dozen or so bolts let in the air between Aria's hands before combining and striking the center of the shade. The shade screamed in agony, as it seemed to catch fire. Pockets of red blossomed inside the swirling mass of smoke, and continued to grow until no black was left and the shade had become completely red. A moment later the scream was cut off and Hiccup felt his heart begin to beat again as the shade dissolved into ash, before being swept away by the wind. Aria stood for only another minute before dropping to one knee. Staggering to his feet Hiccup moved and helped her up, slinging one of her arms around his shoulder. "are you ok?" Aria nodded, and wiped away a trickle of blood from her mouth. "yes. but I won't be doing anymore magic for a while. I'm drained."

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Hiccup looked around. The crowd that had assembled before had fled; but were now slowly beginning to return; their hushed whispers creating a kind of buzzing sound like angry bees. Still supporting Aria Hiccup spoke. "What now?" Aria coughed before speaking. "We have to leave. Hiccup's head snapped towards her. "What?" Aria nodded. "The shades know you're here. You heard him, his master told him to come here. That means with him dead they'll send more here, to try and capture you. And if they can't they'll destroy the entire village to be sure you're dead. We have to leave now." "HICCUP!" Hiccup looked up, his father, and the other teens his age were looking at him. They eyes unsure. Hiccup had been about to speak when Aria touched his shoulder. "Don't. It'll only make it more difficult." Hiccup looked at her. "he's my dad." Aria nodded. "I know. But trust me…it'll only make it harder. We HAVE to leave. We don't have a choice."

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Hiccup felt tears well up in his eyes. "what should I do? Just leave and say nothing?" Aria sighed. "no. go to your house. Get anything you can't live without. And then bring a few things you'd be willing to part with. Be sure you can carry it easily. Then come back here. Then and ONLY then, should you talk with your father. Ok?" Hiccup fought back the tears in his eyes and nodded. Leaving Aria Hiccup shook his head at his dad as he neared. "in a moment." Passing his dad Hiccup noted that the crowd parted rather quickly for him to pass. Many of the Vikings were looking at him with fear in their eyes. too soon Hiccup found himself at his house. Stepping inside Hiccup made his way to his room and stood in the doorway.

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Moving through the room Hiccup began to put several items into his backpack. About to leave Hiccup paused just long enough to open up a small oak box he kept on his dresser. His mother had given him the box; along with what was inside of it. Pulling the object out Hiccup turned it over in his hand. The necklace was simple, a dragon's tooth held along a leather cord. Putting the necklace around his neck Hiccup closed the box and left his room. Making his way back outside and to the town square. Making his way through the crowd Hiccup found that Aria had gathered a small tarp and was waiting for him. You'll have to put your things in here. That way we can carry them as we fly." Nodding hiccup put the things he had gathered, onto the tarp and watched as Aria tied the ends of the tarp together and into s knot.

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Looking over his shoulder Hiccup found that has father had not left the spot Hiccup had passed him from. "go." Hiccup looked to Aria who nodded. "go. Talk to him. but remember no matter what he says or what you feel you have to leave." Nodding Hiccup took a deep breath before turning around and moving towards his dad. As he neared his dad he opened his mouth to speak; only to close it again. What could he say? How could he explain everything that had happened? "dad….I'm so sorry." For a moment his dad was silent then; "so am I Hiccup. How could you come to me and tell me what was going on? How could you not come to me and tell me what you had gotten involved in?" Hiccup fought back more tears. "dad…I'm so sorry." A moment later his dad pulled him into a hug. "It's ok son. It's ok." Hiccup opened his mouth to speak again but broke off as he felt someone's hand touch his shoulder.

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Turning Hiccup found a wise women behind him. Her skin was wrinkled and aged by many years of life. Her walking stick was covered in ancient carvings. For a long moment the wise women just looked at him; then she spoke. "You're a hero through and through. Proud, honorable; and yet you don't stand alone. You draw your strength from those who support you. And while this can be your greatest strength it can also be one of your greatest flaws. Yet in your mind you know your cause is just, and righteous. It serves you well, terrifies your foes. Very few people will dare to stand against you; in their mind that you're cause is the right one. But you'll need to be careful. The road you're walking is full of traps and pitfalls. There will be those who will do anything it takes to stop you. At the end of your path are two outcomes. You will either stand as the greatest hero; or you will fall so far that no one will be able to pick you back up."

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Hiccup felt a shiver run up his spine as he watched the wise women turn and walk away from him. a moment later Aria spoke. "Hiccup…we need to go." Behind him Hiccup's dad spoke. "you're leaving? You're running away?" this time when Aria spoke Hiccup could hear the anger in her voice. "he's not running cause he's scared. He's running so the shades won't come back and kill everyone here. He's running so he can save all of your asses." Aria gestured to the crowd around them. "so don't you dare think him a coward. He's a hero." Hiccup turned to Aria. "do we really have to go?" Aria nodded. "yes. And it has to be now." Hiccup nodded and walked towards Aria who had bundled up the tarp, and now stood waiting. "what do I do? I've only ever been a dragon once." Aria smiled. "just allow the dragon to take over. He knows what to do. Allow that part of your mind to be free. Allow yourself to become that dragon."

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He could feel it happening. His skin was burning as though he had been out in the sun for too long. Gasping for breath Hiccup found that his breathing was becoming very labored. Then the pai hit, blasting through his body as he felt his bones, and muscles beginning to warp and twist. He fell forward onto his knees, only to find his arms were gone, replaced by powerful scale covered legs. It felt as though thousands of ants were crawling under his skin. Seconds later the sound of ripping fabric met his ears as his wings burst forth, tearing through his skin and clothes. He'd stayed silent this long, but when the second wave of pain hit him Hiccup let out a scream of pain. but that scream began to change too, and soon was replaced by a loud echoing roar that shook the ground beneath him. the last feeling of change he felt was his face going from human to dragon. Throwing his head to the side Hiccup found that Aria had already changed and was waiting for him, the tarp with their belonging now clutched in her teeth.

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Moments later Aria took to the sky. Hiccup gave the village one last look. Everyone had moved back and some were staring at him with fear while others looked unsure of how to feel. Bending his legs Hiccup pushed off the ground and unfurled his wings; catching the wind and taking to the sky; lifting him up and away from his home; and his old life and towards his new one.

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AN: WELL FOLKS CHAPTER 24 IS UP AND DONE. AND SO IS THIS STORY.

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ALLOW ME TO OFFICIALLY DECLARE THIS THE LAST CHAPTER OF A DRAGON'S GLYPH.

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WOW I'M SOOOOO CLOSE TO 300 REVIEWS.

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I'M GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BREAK, AND THEN START WRITING THE SEQUAL; A DRAGON'S PROMISE.

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SADLY THE CHAPTERS WILL COME A BIT SLOW BECAUSE I WILL BE CREATING A WORLD ENTIRELY OUT OF MY OWN HEAD. ALTHOUGH I WILL DRAW INSPIRATION FROM OTHER WORKS.

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TO SIGNAL THE START OF THE NEW STORY I'M GONNA MAKE A 'SNEAK PEEK' CHAPTER AND POST IT HERE. SO EVERYONE WILL KNOW IT'S BEGUN.

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HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THEN.

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I WANNA SAY A HUGE THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE STUCK WITH ME. AND A MAJOR THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO BUGGED AND HARASSED ME INTO FINISHING THIS STORY. THANK YOU. ANOTHER THANKS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO LET ME BOUNCE IDEAS OFF YOU AND HELPED ME TO DEVELOP THIS STORY.

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HUG


	28. A DRAGON'S PROMISE

well folks chapter 1 of the sequel has been posted.

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the story is called A DRAGON'S PROMISE.

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i hope everyone likes it and i really hope it turns out well.

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i'm gunna be delving into the history of the land and the factions that live there.

doing my best to keep everything original and not borrow from other sources anymore.

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feel free to write me notes to discus the story and talk to me.

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to the people who have kepts nagging me to write this i say, "thank you".

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**HA I GOT IT POSTED JUST BEFORE THE WORLD ENDED. (12/21/2012)**


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